I can't seem to find a definitive answer after researching a few days.

There appears to be two Smith trees, one similar to the Just Fruit and Exotics (JFE) which has  longer lobes. The other featuring shorter lobes. Both appear to have excellent reviews. But does anyone have insight on which is the true/original Smith.

Based on searches, many respected forum members have the JFE version, while other respected members have the short lobe version

If you do respond with your thoughts, can you list the version you have as either longer lobe or shorter lobe

The one at LSU shows both types of leaves from what I read, did the other discussions take these observations into account?
http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1888349/lsu-fig-pics

Mine is from lsu mother tree. It has long fingers just like pic above. Should fruit good this year 2nd year in ground. Broke bud in January. Going to be a great year of figs here. Bad hurricane season though. Good luck with your research

Thanks hoosier and figpig

Some agreed there were two different strains or versions of Smith.

There is a good thread on the forum where its pretty evident 2 separate versions are circulating across the fig growing community

The LSU depicted above appears to be closer or the same as the JFE version.

Well , after reading about this, interesting .. I had to check out the smiths here,,,south Louisiana. I have 4 in ground and 1 doesn't get much sun. First figs it made looked like col de dame blanc.! The second year it made Smith figs,,, large ,flat. It has several leaf patterns now, early spring .
So does the other 3. So does leaf patterns vary by amount of sunlight, seasons, zones.?
Isn't Smith one of the best tasting figs.. I understand it came from Croatia.. ?

I have both versions that i am growing. I just want a clear and convincing answer.

I am sorry if am wrong, but examples like dennis, dave, don appear to grow the le blanc short lobed version above.

Where examples like JD and ross, rafael have the JFE long finger version

My tree purchased in January from JF&E is about 4 feet tall and is growing like crazy showing both types of leaves here in south Florida.  By the way Just Fruits & Exotics ships a really well packed, large tree with good roots.  I am very happy with what I have purchased from them, very healthy trees.

It seems very unlikely to me that lecompte, the person who supplied noss, and JFE would all make the same labeling mistake. Leaves tend to become less lobed as the branches develop and the tree takes on a mature growth habit. JFE growths their trees fast, it makes sense that they would have more lobing. The fruit they show has faint stripes which seems to be one characteristic of Smith can show, the fruit varies based on vigor as well though.

Here is another picture of more Smith leaves today. I thought these are long lobes. Some are shorter. In the summer I need to be more attentive to the leaves and maybe see changes .
One thing for certain, the figs are delicious good size ,flat ish,,greenish to yellow brown and have dark red pulp. Many figlets this spring ,should have a great season ahead.

thanks all. this is interesting

here is a link indicating the true smith should not have brunswick or finger pointy leaves.

and in the same link which has some indicating potentially two different strains or versions.

Dennis even mentioning all his smith trees having he same pattern

This is an interesting topic. I can't recall the JFE leaf pattern right now although I have posted some pics elsewhere in prior years. My doubts have always been about the dark purple top 2/3 of the JFE fruit. The other version seems not to get as dark as the JFE version. I wish Dan_La had not dropped off the forums and pulled his blog because he had an excellent picture and explanation for how Smith is darker in Northern climates. That would tend to indicate that my JFE is an authentic Smith performing as expected. The flavor is as outstanding as one could expect. They are not a late ripener for me, so that is another interesting point to compare. When does the non-JFE version ripen? Another point: I believe Don stated that his breba fell off after a cold blast. It is my understanding that Smith is the type of Unifera (like Preto or Col de Dame) that forms breba but drops them. My JFE has done exactly that. Also, I do not think there is any chance the JFE is a Magnolia, for the record.

I bought 2 from JFE 2 years ago. Beautiful trees and like Rafael said they do start out with brebas but drop them. One of my trees is hanging onto one right now but pretty sure it will be off by the time it goes outside.

In zone 6a I haven't had a perfectly ripe one yet. This year I am getting a very early start though so I should get some this year.. Even the unripe ones that were close were decent and you could tell they were very rich in flavor, they just needed more time.

After the rain stopped I decided to take some pictures this morning of my Just Fruits & Exotics Smith to show that in several places on this young tree there are both type of leaves, single lobe & multi lobe.

As I mentioned in a previous post, when I spoke to Brandy at JF&E before I bought the tree she said all of their trees come from their own, on property mother tree for the last 5 years and so all of the trees she sells should be the same.  

She said that trying to identify a tree from leaves is very difficult because leaves can change according to where it is grown.  JF&E is currently sold out of Smith.

   
 

Last fall I collected 2 Croatian varieties. One I thought could be Smith so I put it out there as "U Croatian White (Smith?). I was corrected by Dan that mine was not Smith. I tried to get more info from him but did not get clarification. It's my understanding that the true Smith is the less lobed and fingered looking leaf. The one I collected had long overly exaggerated fingers. (Pretty cool looking). So... if yours has both it's possible it's correct. If it just has the long fingers, I'd be suspicious.

That being said I have (1) 3 year old potted and am rooting another Smith now. Can't wait to compare the two. I've never paid attention to the leaf pattern, and have not tasted a ripe fruit.

Dan was the leading expert on Smith, and he seemed to believe the JFE was authentic based on the fruit characteristics. He is the foremost expert on Smith in the world. I would trust him more than a mere collector's observation. I include myself in the latter category. I'd also point out that the fact that there appear to be two "strains" of Smith does not mean that one is true and the other is not. It is quite possible to have some variation within the same variety.

Figpig how can I get cuttings from LSU if I drive down there?  Do you have a connect?

This is my smith.
I was,down there for the gathering and the mad fig tree pillage. It was brutal. Poor trees didn't see us coming. They got slaughtered. Lol. When dr Johnson said we could take cutting..... cuttings we took.

I got myself a smith after reading excellent reviews about it. I'm wondering which one I got now lol 🙁. Mine came from a reputed source however it looked different to Randy's Smith which was a bit darker I believe. I have attached a pic from last season . Can anyone identify this please? 🙂.

If there is one variety of figs that I have too many of, it's Smith.  It is my favorite.  Just one taste of this fig and you really don't need any others in my opinion.  My Smith trees all came from Dalton Durio of Durio's nursery.  Except for one.....and its my oldest fig tree.  The base of my tree is as big around as my knee!  And it puts out more figs than any other tree.  The leaf pattern on my trees are the same as the pic in post 2 above.