Pete (bullet..) had asked, for some reason, if I could show the leaves of an adult Violet fig-
Here I am with two pictures of not very good quality (my Lumix broke down) showing a healthy leaf and a couple of figlets of that variety. next time I promise to show better pics.
Francisco

I am thinking it could be considered to look similar to Black madeira, does it get a nodal swelling on the trunk?  If you're not sure I will take a picture later on to display what I mean.

Pictures added.

francisco, 

thank you for the pictures. in this picture, the leaves do look very similar to Black Madeira (UCD). 

but one thing is for sure, lack Madeira does not have that healthy glow to the leaves. they are all sort of spotty which i assume are due to FMV. 

does your Violeta have majority of 3 lobed leaves? so far Black Madeira has both 3 and single lobed leaves. however, mostly single lobe. since my BM is so young, this might change in future. 

Chivas and other members might comment further on the Black Madeira. i know martin and others have been growing Black Madeira much longer than i have. 

James, I will further check and show nodes on a couple of pictures when I get my camera back and fixed. I agree they look similar. May be Nelson has some pictures from the trees in the Archipelago for comparison.

Pete,

Yes the bulk of leaves are all similar to the one on the picture. There are in fact a few distorted patterns for whatever reason (not much) and some lobeless leaves as well.
FMV is not a common problem here.  Most trees are 100% healthy.

Inevitably, given the widespread presence of the caprifig, this tree shall be caprificated and the fruit although of very similar contour, will present some differences on skin and pulp colors as well as in flavor.

Francisco

James last year I posted pics of my figo preto trunk with the swelling like you mentioned





I too had mentioned to Francisco that violeta resembled black Madeira / figo preto.

I don't think figo preto is a destinct fig from Madeira but an old portuguese variety that through the years lost its original name.

Speaking about the trunk, take a look at these mature trees. Pictures taken by Jon of these Portuguese trees in his area. http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/Portuguese-trees-5091607?highlight=portuguese

Here are a couple pictures of ny Violetta that i purchased from Sybil at Paradise Nursery in 2004.
I still have the original tree.

I think paradise carried violette, which is the same as violette the Bordeaux.

Thanks for the info Bass. I kind of wondered if they were the same. I've had it for a long time, Its late for me, but worth the wait

so far i haven't noticed any swelling on Figo Preto (Point Loma). the leaves for FP and BM are very similar, but FP seems little darker, and little more pointy. BM here seems to be little more rounded. BM so far seems to branch more easier. might be due to location or what not.

i heard I-258 might be also similar. so far, i think all three are different figs, but they are all too young to determine what they would be like in few yrs.

Pete my Figo Preto too is from Point Loma.

hey nelson,

i would love my Figo Preto to become like the picture of the mother tree. that's neat. i got this from one of the forum member on a trade. i killed the first one, and he sent me second one. very generous. anyway, the only branch that was coming off the main trunk was broken during the shipping. i left it in the container anyway and little later, new branch came out of the soil and now it's about 6" long. very healthy and grows well, if not fast. i should be able to taste the fig on this either this yr or next. i came to me as rooted cutting last yr.

Hi , Very interesting ..

Scot your fig as Bass said could well be one of the many French Violettes!
Nothing to do with the Portug- Violeta or B.Madeira as you like.-few doubts left as far as I am concerned

With test material from both origins it would be a nice exercise to compare the ADN's
but that is very expensive.

Nelson, I wonder who could have been the one who first brought such a jewel to Point Loma.. Cabrillo ??
He was the first European to set foot there and as they did on those days, all Armadas sailing West, coming from Portugal or Spain did stop over MADEIRA main Island  to get water, fresh fruit and general food supplies to carry on along with the most favorable  trade winds from NE, straight to the New Worlds -North and South.
On the first quarter of the 16th century, I am sure the Madeira settlers already cultivated various fruit trees brought from the main land, among them figs.
May be you find something on that 'Elucidário' book you have.

Francisco

it seems the name "violet" has been given to number of different figs. which makes it difficult to determine what is what. scot's figs doesn't look like VdB/Negronne that i have which originated from Paradise Nursery. maybe different one from the same nursery? i believe their later catalog called VdB/Negronne "Elegant Violetta Black".

i think it's different from her VdB at least. this is mature leave on my tree. 

Pete, take a look at the pics I just took today. Similar leaf pattern to yours on these early leaves. Tree is very slow to start due to heavy top and root pruning.

scot, 

the picture above shows same type of leaves as mine does :) 

VdB has been in the US for a very long while.  Condit wrote about it in California, I believe.  What Mike McConkey introduced was Petite Negri in the '80s.  Petite Negri and VdB/Negronne are not equivalent, and I suspect is at least as different as RdB.