Hi, James! Hope all is well in Houston.  It makes sense that fig sap (which contains the proteolytic substance ficin) could be effective against bee or wasp stings if applied quickly enough, as bee and wasp venom is a complex mixture of proteins, enzymes and amino acids. If the ficin deactivates many of these components, then the symptoms of the sting should be greatly decreased. If I used this remedy, though, it would be a matter of choosing between the symptoms of the sting and the intense itching, welts and sores that fig sap causes on my skin. I minimize the symptoms by using gloves and long sleeves when picking figs.

Jon's picture of the "Celeste" fruit meets my criteria for Celeste except for the pulp color, which is pink here in Texas. The presence of wild caprifigs in Jon's area and the fertility of Jon's cultivars (Vista Mission) brings to mind the possibility that the pulp is a deeper red due to caprification. Condit mentions a difference in the pulp color of fig cultivars when the fig has been caprified. The pulp of a number of Jon's cultivars that I also have in my collection seem to have a darker, more intense color. Of course, the difference could be due to climate.

Ditto to what the Moderator said.  Paradise Nursery sold Marseilles (a variety once favored by President Thomas Jefferson at Monticello) as Italian Honey. Some sources say that Lattarula is the same as Marseilles. Another synonym for Marseilles is "Lemon Fig".

Adriatic, Alma, Bourjasotte Grise, Celeste, Col de Dame Noir, Green Ischia, Harry's Fig (Poulette), Hollier, Hunt, Kadota, LSU Gold, Mission, Smith, Violette de Bordeaux, Vista Mission

There are several others that may vie for the list, once I have had a chance to sample the fruit: Aldo, Black Madiera, Gentile, Paradiso (depending on which one it is!) and Trojano.

In reference to OttawanZ5's query, I would opine that healthy green growth should be left on the cutting because the leaves with their chlorophyll serve to capture light energy and transfer it to the fig. If the leaves are removed, the energy stored in the cutting that was used in the production of those leaves is lost. If no roots emerge, then the leaves will wither in time, due to lack of water and other nutrients. (Someone such as Al, from the Fig and Garden Forum, probably has a more precise and technical explanation of what occurs.) Emerging small figs on the cutting should be removed, since their growth will result in a net loss of energy to the cutting and little, if any, potential gain. The bottom line is, that in order to thrive, the cutting will need both leaves and roots. It seems sensible to try to preserve the leaves long enough in order for the roots to emerge. Empirically, I notice with my cuttings, that the leaves have to be kept in a medium that is sufficiently moist, preferably surrounded with humid air, in order to prevent the leaves withering prior to root growth. My cuttings don't seem to do as well if they are in an area that is dehumidified (with an air conditioning system). The outside air on our back deck (open to the air, but with a roof overhead) is much more humid. The temperature varies a good deal (from the upper 40's F to over 80 F), but seems to be the best environment for me to root the cuttings with minimal intervention. As the season has progressed in Zone 8B Texas, there is much less variation in temperature, and the range is more conducive to rooting and active growth of the cuttings. To control the humidity of the cuttings indoors, a covering of some sort is helpful, such as plastic hairnets over the cups. Of course, in such an environment, mold is always a concern. With my cuttings exposed to the open air, even with very high humidity, I don't seem to have much problem with mold.

Adriatic

Alma

Atreano

Aunt Alma's Fig (Undetermined Variety)

Banana (Kadota)

Binella (Kadota)

Black Jack

Blue Giant

Bourjasotte Grise

Breva (Higo Negro)

Brunswick

Calimyrna

Celeste

Col De Dame Noire

Conadria

Deanna

Desert King

      Diredo

Dotatto (Kadota - Lowes)

Double Header

Eastern Brown Turkey

Excel

Fico Di Ruvo

Flanders

Galbun

Gentile

Giant Amber

Golden Celeste

Green Ischia

Gulbun

Hardy Chicago

Harry's Fig (Poulette?)

Jurupa

Hollier

LSU Gold

LSU Purple

Marseilles Italian Golden Honey Fig

Mary Lane

Mission

Nazarti

Nero Caesar

Panachee

Patrick's Supergiant (Malcom's Supergiant)

Royal Vineyard (Drap D'or)  

Sierra (6-38W)

Stanford Caprifig

Sultane

Tena

Terry's Fig (Celeste)

Verte

Violette De Bordeaux

Vista Mission

White Texas Everbearing 

Dan,

In 2004, I spoke briefly with Dr. E. O'Rourke about the LSU figs. I also asked him about the Smith fig. The Smith fig, although not a product of the LSU program, is a fig that has been grown for many years in Louisiana. Dr. O'Rourke stated that the fig was named for Thomas Becknell Smith, a nurseryman in Belle Chasse, Louisiana. As you say, the Smith fig is a good fig. I found that it retained its flavor during the unusually heavy rains this summer in Austin. The external appearance of the fig seems to vary a good bit depending on weather conditions, although the interior remains red. Last year, my potted Smith Fig was uniformly green with a deep red interior. This year, I planted the fig in-ground, and the exterior was shaded with purple. A picture from a friend of mine from whom I received the fig shows the fig as yellow with a shading of red.

Joe

I have read sources that speculated that "Neches" and "Natchez" are actually the same word. There was a town in Texas many years ago that was referred to as "Natchez on the Neches (River)". The name Natchez was, I believe, derived from the Natchez Indians of the Southeast United States, a tribe peripherally related to the Aztecs and other Mesoamerican tribes. One of the earliest trails through the South was known as the "Natchez Trace". I suspect that, given the evidence of the "Yellow Neches" fig in Jamestown, VA, that the fig was carried by settlers to Texas from Virginia or points west. The fig may have been grown on the Neches River or may have been brought via the Natchez Trace. The origin of the name may be lost to the mists of time. At any rate, it is good to know that the "Yellow Neches" may have potential as a "gourmet" fig. The taste and performance of figs are notoriously capricious, subject to the vagaries of climate and soil. To those of us for whom taste is more important than commercial potential (size and number of crops), the opinions of an authority such as Condit are important and certainly to be considered. However, from reading his work, I believe that for him, the commercial potential of a fig had a higher priority than the taste of the fig alone. I do not have "Yellow Neches" in my collection, but I will give it a try!

Interesting to hear your favorable opinion regarding Yellow Neches, Jon! Condit was not very impressed with it in Hilgardia, but there have been other figs that he did not care for that I thought were quite good. Yellow Neches is a pioneer fig that was collected from Angleton, Texas in 1929 (The Neches is a river in east Texas.) Condit commented that a specimen of the tree was also noted in Jamestown, VA in 1940.