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Encanto Farms Nursery > Topics > It's actually not another Brown Turkey!
 
 


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satellitehead

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Posted Reply with quote  #1 
A few weeks back, I posted a picture of a big fig tree at The Rock Church in Atlanta, the thread is here the picture of the tree is here

Well, I stopped back by today to check up on the tree.  It looked from a distance that it's just another Brown Turkey, however there are some differences of dominant leaf and some branch and fruit coloration so I thought I would post pictures to get some opinions on other possibilities. 

I tasted all four below from "SUPER ripe" (falling apart), to the strawberry one that was a little "under-ripe", and all were less than spectacular.  It has the same general fruit size, skin splitting tendency, interior color and void, seed count, and characteristic "no-flavor" that every "real" BT I've tasted always has in my area, but the skin color and thickness is totally different, and there was a spot of richness to it, although it just tasted incredibly watered down.

The other main differences are the leaf variety, stem/terminal bud coloring (notice the red on leaf #2 and the red tip pictured at the end).  The fruit is totally dark instead of blushed purple/brown with a green top.  Most of the leaves are three-lobe with thumbs, normal for my BT as you see in the pic linked in first paragraph above.

Tastes like a "good" BT, but it doesn't fit 100%, or even 60% ...  so what do you think it is?

Attached Images
jpeg rock-fruits.jpg (106.37 KB, 346 views)
jpeg rock-eyes.jpg (104.16 KB, 347 views)
jpeg rock-open.jpg (175.54 KB, 345 views)
jpeg rock-leaf1.jpg (99.46 KB, 342 views)
jpeg rock-leaf3.jpg (109.99 KB, 339 views)
jpeg rock-leaf2.jpg (107.27 KB, 339 views)
jpeg rock-red-tip.jpg (143.85 KB, 336 views)


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Jason
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pitangadiego

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Posted Reply with quote  #2 
Actually looks more like a Black Mission.
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gorgi

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Posted Reply with quote  #3 
I see no "brown" on the fruit skin.
Photoshop'd?
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satellitehead

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Posted Reply with quote  #4 

I actually thought Vista when I first saw it based on pics from others here on the forum, but the taste...ugh.  It has no taste! 

I agree, the eye and fruit (shape and solid coloring) is more correct to Black Mission.  Some of the leaves look like Vista, some of the fruit also, but Vista has similar leaves and fruit to Black Mission.  Brown Turkey doesn't have this much dark skin for me, but I thought it could be because this is south-facing in full sun all day and my BT is north-facing in partial sun all day.

I've seen the red tinting of the leaves and terminal buds in Vista also, does this occur in your Black Mission?

I've had Black Mission figs from California and they taste really quite good.  How is it possible that this fig tree tastes like nothing special?  (Other than "your sense of taste must be terrible!", because I have no problems with beer, wine and can blindfold taste test stuff all day long)
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Jason
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satellitehead

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Posted Reply with quote  #5 

Here is my dilemma -

Brown Turkey:  http://figs4fun.com/Thumbnail_Brown_Turkey.html

Vista:  http://figs4fun.com/Thumbnail_Vista.html

Black Mission:  http://figs4fun.com/Thumbnail_Black_Mission.html

Pic of this tree, so you can see the leaves could match all three, really...  :  http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/file?id=989720

The fruit is very similar to all three of the figs linked.

No wonder nobody can figure out these unknowns ;)
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Jason
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GeorgiaFig

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Posted Reply with quote  #6 
Hi Jason.  Do you think the recent heavy rains here might have thrown the taste off?

I will eat most any fig and like it, but I would say that our figs have been pretty watery since the heavy rains.  We have gotten at least 3 inches in the last week over here in Northeast Georgia, but it looks like Atlanta has been getting some pretty heavy rain too.

It really doesn't look like any of the Brown Turkeys I've seen, far too dark.

Hope you are well my friend.

John
North Georgia Piedmont
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satellitehead

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Posted Reply with quote  #7 

I suppose the water could've done that - it would explain all the bloating and splitting too.  We have gotten nailed with rain down here too.  It's killing me - I'm about to need to build umbrellas over my potted figs to keep them from drowning, they can't even dry out between rains, and we just got even more rain an hour ago!
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Jason
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TucsonKen

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Posted Reply with quote  #8 

Sure doesn't look like my BTs. I occasionally get one that's quite dark, but never as dark as yours (the "neck" end is always lighter), My BTs also have a pronounced cavity inside the fruit.
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Ken
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Posted Reply with quote  #9 
definitely not Brown turkey. It is more like Black Mission just as Jon said, specially the interior color.
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satellitehead

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Posted Reply with quote  #10 
but interior color when ripe is not red?  nearly all of of the Bl Mission pics in the F4F archive are red interior when ripe, but this fig has a honey colored interior.  the only one of this bunch which is close to red is the one which is not ripe.  I opened three more on-site and they were also tan interior.
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Jason
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Posted Reply with quote  #11 
The interior color and the taste of a fig can vary a good bit so it is hard to judge on that alone.  I have only come accross a few Mission figs, so I am no expert on this, but the ones I have seen were not red inside.  The main reason to me this can't be Brown Turkey is the red stems.
pitangadiego

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Posted Reply with quote  #12 
There are a lot of different Mission / Black Mission strains. The best are redder, jammier and sweeter - see the "NL" selection. Many are washed out or watery. Compare the color of the "QG" selection.  Then see the Mission at UC Davis, which is lighter in color (and not as good). I have several figs (not Black Mission) which can be yellow/honey or purple/red depending on the season or even the portion of the season.

The leaves posted have a lot of variability (and maybe a little more than I have seen), but they are all consistent with Black Mission, esp. the pinkish stems.

See, esp, the FMV splotched leaf's shape:
 

This is one branch on an otherwise much more normally leaved Black Mission in Orange County, CA.

Generally, the pictures from the original post are too juicy and not "hollow" enough, and to deeply colored in the skin to be consistent with a Brown Turkey, IMO.
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JD

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Posted Reply with quote  #13 
Jason,

I think you found a Black Mission. Interested to know what you think of the taste when the daily wet weather subsides.
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