Hortus Botanicus Leiden, Netherlands

Common name: Gewone vijg, vijgenboom, Edible fig, figueira-de-tocar

Family: Moraceae (Mulberry family)

Distribution: Eastern Mediterranean to Afghanistan

Hardiness: Zone 07

Life form: Shrub

Comments: Medieval Plants Tour - When Adam and Eve were banished from Paradise, they were supposed to have used the fig tree’s large leaves to cover their shame. In the Middle Ages people also thought that the Tree of Knowledge that grew in Paradise was a fig tree. Medieval scholars had mixed feelings about the fig tree. “The leaves of the fig tree are harmful because anything that grows in their shade dies instantly, but the fruit of the fig tree, the figs, are sweet and delicious. Furthermore, the figs grow back very quickly, so you can harvest no less than four times a year. Plinius once said that the fig is the very sweetest of fruits, but beware! It is not healthy to eat too many figs, because they stimulate the formation of gas and cause retention of bodily fluids, which can lead to stomach ache and diarrhoea. And, furthermore, snakes in the far Indies live off figs.