Hello Everyone!  As some of your might know i recently returned from 15 days in France, during which time i kept my eyes peeled for figs ;).  I happened to find two trees in France and two in Geneva area (I did not go to southern France or i would likely have found 20+ fig trees).  I took leaf pictures where i could, and fruit pictures of all of the figs.  I even was brave enough to taste over ripened, definitely not optimal fruits.  As you will see in the pictures to follow,  the trees were mostly dormant and the weather in late November is a bit spotty for ripening figs.  Please bear with me as i post loads of pictures and descriptions in hopes that the community can help determine varieties.  I have already made a bit of researches on my own, but i would never claim a name without a second, third fourth opinion.

Can't wait to hear of your fig adventure

Sounds like you had a nice trip. 
Look forward to see your photos.

My first discovery was made while walking through the streets of the middle aged city of Yvoire, France.  Here in the well sheltered center of the city amidst old stone shops and homes i found two trees that if i had to guess must be over 20 years old.  They were both almost completely dormant and still had some unripe fruits on them, the leaves, fruits and growth patterns were identical and they were the obviously the same variety.  There was a smaller tree behind the fence of a home in the same old city that was the same variety as well, i suspect they propagated it from the town square. I did manage to find one over ripe fruit on the ground, but cannot say anything for the taste as it was soured (possibly by recent rains).  I braved a tiny taste, but the souring was so bad that you could smell it and I spat it out immediately.  The seeds were a tiny bit crunchy.  None of the fruits had split.

My best guess based on leaf similarity is Col de Dame Blanc, but i'm no expert and i am not growing it to compare.  Here is a thread link with leaf pics of Col de Dame Blanc that are similar.

https://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/pix-col-de-dame-blancfirst-wow-fig-of-the-yr-6514912?highlight=col+de+dame+blanc&pid=1279479307

There were three figs that passed me by.  One had no leaves or fruit in Paris, actually the only fig i saw after 4 days of hunting in the main part of the city, so i took down its address and will come investigate some other year if i happen to visit earlier in the season.  There was another in Yvoire area that was overtaking a full yard and actually covering the roof of a storage building nearby.  While driving i saw it had purple fruits as well as leaves, but i was not driving and the driver was no longer sympathetic to fig pursuits that day...  The third that i saw was when we were bringing the rental car back to the airport before finishing our vacation with four days in Paris.  About ten minutes from Orly airport our car was rear ended, thankfully all parties as well as our rental car were fine.  While my lovely wife was arguing in French with the woman who hit us and filling out the lengthy accident report i walked around and spotted a fig in the yard right next to where we got hit.  This was the only instance in which i voluntarily restrained my fig addiction.  I had a strong hunch that if my wife caught me climbing a hedge while she was filling out an accident report I might not have made the return trip home...

The second fig was a green honey type fig i saw on a tree in St-Julien-en-Genevois, France. The fig i cut open was not quite ripe, so the taste was rather watery and bland. It was afterall the end of the season, the tree was dormant and mostly defoliated. The other figs i saw were not even close to ripe, so still hard inside, or they were rotten and overripe. The ones i weighted weighed in at about 20 grams, so i would assume the normal range to be 20-25 grams in season. I could not say if it was a double cropping fig or not as i did not notice the buds of the spring Breba crop had formed on the branch tips yet. It appears to have a tight eye and i did not notice any splitting from recent rains. I did notice that many of the rotting ones on the ground had more brown coloration in the skin, not certain if this is a result of proper ripening or of decay. 

My best educated guess is the French variety Goutte D'or, to my eye the leaves are looking very similar but i cannot say for certain if they are a match.  I will admit that the fruit pics are not an exact match to ones i have seen.  Here are some threads that show leaf pics:

https://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/my-goutte-dor-doree-6936700?highlight=goutte+d%27&pid=1283133650

https://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/goutte-dor-dor%C3-%A9e-brebas-7019444?highlight=goutte+d%27&pid=1283761576

















The fig on the left in my hand in this picture was overripe bordering on rotten, the interior coloration was similar to the fig shown above that was cut open.




EDIT: I did try this one, it was really watered down and super washed out, pretty gross.  But with recent rains and no warm temps...

I am particularly excited about this fig tree for a few reasons: The flavor of the half of one that i tried to eat which was dead ripe on one side was INCREDIBLE, the tree was gorgeous (as were all the fields upon fields of grape vines i walked through the same morning before finding it), and of all my discoveries this is the one i am the most convinced for the identity. This one was in Bardonnex, Switzerland, about 5 kilometers from the border of France, on the corner of Chemin du Cornet and Chemin des Vignes Blanches! It was a large purple fig weighing in at about 50 grams, though there was one ripe one at 61 grams and several unfinished fruits in the 35 g range. Given that the three that were ripe were all 50 grams + this leads me to believe that this is the normal size for the Main crop of this variety. I could not get any leaf photos as the tree was entirely defoliated. The leaves i saw curled on the ground were varying between three and five lobes with a similar shape between each type. If i had to make a guess i would say the tree was about 20 years old, but it is difficult with figs. Based on the fruit size, variation in leaf shape and the strong similarity between my photos and those i have seen of other growers, i suspect this variety to be a French fig called Violette Dauphine. Hopefully i will be able to get a positive ID very soon! There were parts of each fig that were perfectly ripe and they were DELICIOUS, such a sweet berry flavor...  As i mentioned above, the half of one of the three was dead ripe (i had to climb the tree to get them) and the flavor was incredible, absolutely awesome.  Oh and there were definitely breba buds on the branch tips.

Here is a thread with some Violette Dauphine, to my eye the fruits in post #17 are the same.  The leaf variation between three and five lobes was mentioned on the internet as well as in post #17.  My original thought was Sultane due to the size, coloration and the fact that Sultane is known to produce late in season, after seeing Violette Dauphine it became my second guess.  Hopefully someone here can help identify, i know there are a few members growing each variety.

https://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/violette-dauphine-3739520?highlight=dauphine&pid=1288014654








The bottom part of this fig was dead ripe











As soon as these warmed up (it was about 40°F outside, the eyes started to drip)

http://s613.photobucket.com/user/DevIsgroDesplat/media/IMG_20161117_055730_zpsyqjpkt1i.jpg.html?filters[user]=145754442&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=7













Not fully ripe, weight about 35g.



Another premature.





I stuffed my sweatshirt pockets with about ten more almost ripe figs, in hopes they might ripen on the counter, but they started growing mold.

Edit: The stems on the most mature ones all sat a bit off center making the fig look kinda squat in a way that did not show up in the picture.

My last edible fig discovery of the trip abroad, also found in Bardonnex, Switzerland. This one i actually forgot entirely to snap a few leaf photos, so identifying might prove to be more difficult. The owner was actually outside of his house so i managed to talk to him about his tree. He was initially very confused, having planted the tree ten years prior and scarcely thought about it since. The tree itself was only about 8 feet tall if i had to guess and the fruits are deep violet, 20-25 grams. There is one that is nearly blue-violet that was the most ripe, with striking stripes in its coloration. It was a pretty decent berry fig, but the season was over so imagine it would be excellent in season. My best guess would place it in the Violette de Bordeaux family, and given that Violette de Bordeaux has light speckling on the fruit skin i think that particular variety is ruled out. Perhaps it could be Aubique petite, Petite Negri or Negronne.

Just for fun, Ficus Sur (a cluster fig) at the Botanical Garden Greenhouse in Paris.  Inedible but its still a fig of sorts, even if it is not ficus carica.










***NOTE: Just because i have shared the location of fig trees abroad does not mean that i am suggesting that others follow me, search out these trees, and cut them to a trunk.  I merely hope that with the help of the F4F community these figs can be properly identified and that should anyone be in the area and wonder, these trees will not become yet another unknown.  Given the fact that two are in France and two others are within 3 miles of France, I found it reasonable to begin my search with known French varieties.  I hope that people will not be abusive of general location information, as i do not condone cutting a tree to its detriment.

Welcome back.

There are hundred of varieties in France and finding out which is which is very difficult.

When a Col de Dame becomes ripe it has a yellowish tone with the green and the red is intense berry and very few seeds if any.

This is what a Col de Dame fig looks like when ripe.

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Thanks for sharing your adventures.

Dev,thanks for sharing your European fig adventures.I don't think the honey one is Goutte D'Or,If I was a gambling man my money would be on Tena,right colour,right leaf shape and its French, see some shots here:

http://www.imgrum.net/user/figseason/1564418200/1078643568785098197_1564418200

On the bite sized dark fig No.2 I would hesitate a guess at RdB.Colour looks right and its got the no-neck stalk thing going on,from the pics I've seen Violette de Bordeaux had a slight 'peak' before the stalk emerges giving the fig a slightly more elliptical shape,same comment stands for Aubique Petite.Without the leaves it's difficult,whatever it is it looks like it's going to be a tasty snack sized fig whatever it is

Awesome pictures. Thanks for sharing. Makes me want to go on a trip. The one in post #8 is the most interesting to me. Did you come home with cuttings?

Don't know if these pictures would help. This is how my CDD looked like back in September.










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Wow! How exciting. I really enjoyed reading about your fig adventures. Sounds like it was a lot of fun. I love fig hunting, and it sounds like you enjoyed doing it, so thanks for sharing!

Devin, if you used a smartphone like an iphone or recent android to take those pictures, the exact location is saved with the photo and can be later extracted and displayed on a map.