I was visiting a park and I came across a fig tree with figs and green leaves!! I was shocked to see at this time of the year figs and very green leaves. The leaves were small, some were gently tri lobed but most of them did not have any lobs....totally different than the fig trees I have. The tree was looking like a bush.

Anybody has any idea what this fig might be?

Here are a few pics. Sorry I did not take a pic of the whole bush.

[URL=http://s880.photobucket.com/user/pink-brug/media/DSCN5593_zps568bda44.jpg.html][IMG]http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/ac10/pink-brug/th_DSCN5593_zps568bda44.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://s880.photobucket.com/user/pink-brug/media/DSCN5592_zps7eafb1b1.jpg.html][IMG]http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/ac10/pink-brug/th_DSCN5592_zps7eafb1b1.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://s880.photobucket.com/user/pink-brug/media/DSCN5595_zps05e4d19c.jpg.html][IMG]http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/ac10/pink-brug/th_DSCN5595_zps05e4d19c.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://s880.photobucket.com/user/pink-brug/media/DSCN5630_zpscc9be754.jpg.html][IMG]http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/ac10/pink-brug/th_DSCN5630_zpscc9be754.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

That is a very nice looking fig!!!!

Did you get cuttings?

Unfortunately I took only 2 cuttings. I did not have anything with me to cut them and it was very hard to break the branches. Beside I did not know if I am allowed to take cuttings. If my cuttings do not root I will most likely go back to get more. This time I' ll be prepared :-)

Nice! What state is it in?

I never leave the house without something to remove cuttings.... you just never know when you find a gem... I carry a small pruner in my car at all times. I am ready!

:) I have a HD bucket with pruners and plastic bags in my trunk at all times just in case ...

i've seen a Hybrid form UCDavis , they used Criping fig and a regular black fig to come up with this variety, I think I might have some detailed info of this beauty...give me a few
ok, here is the video, somewhere in mid section there is a black small fig variety its called "Hybrid DFIC0023" it's a Palmata Hybrid, has Mulberry like leaves.

http://youtu.be/0X2h_RWn4Ks

Thank you Aaron for the suggestion but I do not think it is Hybrid DFIC0023. I look at the pictures of Hybrid DFIC0023 and the twigs on the fig bush I saw are not reddish and the leaves who are not lobed are much narrower than a mulberry leaf and very thick.

that's an example of the hybrid, I think many are done , after all Figs belong to Mulberry family. But you are right, the leaves are not same.

[QUOTE=Grasa]I never leave the house without something to remove cuttings.... you just never know when you find a gem... I carry a small pruner in my car at all times. I am ready![/QUOTE]

Sure sign of a fig nut :-) (I do to by the way)

What state and park did you find this fig in?

In Northern California and actually I found it on the grounds of a villa I was visiting with my out of town relatives

Don't know with certainty, but it looks like the Ficus Pumila-Carica cross that has been named "Ruth Bancroft" by Woodlanders (a great nursery), per below. The Ruth Bancroft Garden is in northern California. I received a nice specimen recently from Woodlanders. Leaves look identical. Will see if it fruits similarly. Woodlanders description:

"A curious hybrid between the climbing fig (vine) and the edible fig (shrub) which is intermediate between the very different parents. This mostly deciduous and semi-vining shrub is grown mostly as a botanical or garden curiosity.  This form, which we are calling 'Ruth Bancroft' has more lobed leaves suggesting the Ficus carica parent.  It was shared with us by plantsman extraordinaire Sean Hogan of Cistus Nursery in Portland, Oregon who says it is from the garden of legendary California gardener Ruth Bancroft.  Having a plant traced to Ruth Bancroft's garden should be reason enough to grow it !"

   http://www.woodlanders.net/index.cfm?fuseaction=plants.plantDetail&plant_id=1988

Not DFIC0023, IMO. Probably a old,old seedling for some sort.

[QUOTE=figarita]In Northern California and actually I found it on the grounds of a villa I was visiting with my out of town relatives[/QUOTE]

Can you be a little more specific, please?  Is this in an area like mine in NorCal that has had several nights of freezing temperatures this winter?

How this one is Evegreen is amazing.  Not sure about all Mulberries, but don't most of those go dormant also?  My Verte could be thought of as Evergreen with all leaves green and loaded with figs.  Hardy Chicago and Ronde de Bordeaux are both dormant, as are all my other figs.  Just not Verte.  No signs of it.

I have my fingers crossed that the cuttings you took root well!

Suzi

As I indicated, I wouldn't be surprised if I have basically a clone of that fig, evidently the Bancroft pumila-carica hybrid. And when it arrived last week from Woodlanders (Aiken, South Carolina), I was surprised to see that it had some nice leaves on it, and is still going strong, whereas the Ficus Afghanistanica that it arrived with had no leaves at all. Woodlanders photo:

My Excel and LSU Purple both are as green as in July too.
Should I clip the leaves or just leave them alone?...

HarveyC I live about 45 min south of SanFran ...yes ,we had quite a few freezing nights....all my plants are burned by the freeze but it did not affect this fig bush . Looks as green as it can be. Hllyhll I look at my picture of the leaves and to me they look a bit different that the one Woodlanders sell. But I maybe wrong. I was planning to go back in few weeks and take a better look and pictures of the bush. Who knows I might be able to take more cuttings.

The more elongated, more distinct lobes in the Woodlanders photo probably merely means that those leaves grew faster (and thus more distinct) than the ones on your cuttings, possibly due to more fortuitous growing conditions of one sort or another, very common.

Plus, more telling, the leaves on my small tree (from Woodlanders) look more similar to your leaf photos than to the Woodlanders leaf photo. When new leaves on your cuttings and new leaves on my tree grow equally fast I would bet that they will look more or less identical to the Woodlanders photo. 

So, essentially identical unusual leaf shape and unusual leaf size of ficus trees sourced to the same geographic area. It seems overwhelmingly likely that you and I, and Woodlanders and that villa, etc, have the same pumila x carica hybrid.

That said, I suppose it's possible that my little Woodlanders tree could fruit gold this year rather than purple, or not fruit at all, and then all bets would be off. Doesn't seem likely, but we'll see.

Yesterday, I was able to go back for a second look at the fig. It is indeed evergreen and they keep it like a bush. I was surprise to see that actually they have 4 fig bushes along an iron fence. Unfortunately they were already trimmed :-(  One bush had a few branches growing through the iron fence and a small branch was sticking out through the fence and i was able to cut it.
Here are the pictures i took of the 2 of the fig bushes :
The bush with the branch I cut
[URL=http://s880.photobucket.com/user/pink-brug/media/DSCN5974_zps7924e070.jpg.html][IMG]http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/ac10/pink-brug/th_DSCN5974_zps7924e070.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
Some of the leaves are tri-lobbed but most of them are not lobbed
[URL=http://s880.photobucket.com/user/pink-brug/media/DSCN5973_zps86a01d76.jpg.html][IMG]http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/ac10/pink-brug/th_DSCN5973_zps86a01d76.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Awesome fig plant, whatever it is...

Has anyone ever tried the figs of Ruth Bancroft the pumila x carica hybrid? Also, is the plant rust free, or have the adhering abilities of pumila?

Really awesome find!!!! So, how does it taste?

Nice find !