Heritage & Rare Fruit Network
  • Home
  • Events Mainland Aust
  • Events Tasmania
  • Host Your Own Grafting Day
  • Blog
  • Save Wild Fruit Gene Pools
  • Propagation
    • How to Propagate Plants
    • Propagation with Warmth
    • Rootstock Information
    • Root Cuttings
    • Blueberry Propagation
  • Fruit
    • Fruit Menu
    • Low Chill Fruit Varieties
    • Subtropical and Rare Food Plants
    • Apples
    • Australian Apples
    • Apple Database
    • Apple Ripening Times
    • Cider Apples
    • Lost Apples
    • Apricots
    • Avocados
    • Cacti
    • Cherries
    • Citrus
    • Currants & Gooseberries
    • Custard Apples
    • Dates
    • Figs
    • Grapes
    • Gooseberries
    • Loquats
    • Medlars
    • Pears
    • Pear Ripening Times
    • Peaches & Nectarines
    • Persimmons
    • Nuts
    • Plums
    • Plum Ripening Times
    • Pomegranates
    • Quinces
  • Sources of Open Pollinated Seeds
  • Private Fruit Collectors
  • Sources of Fruit Trees
  • Grafting
    • Rootstocks for Grafting & Budding
    • Green Grafting
    • Scion Preparation
    • Grafting Grapes
    • Grafting Avocados
    • Apple Scion List 2014
    • Pear Scion List 2014
  • Pruning
  • Espalier
  • Your Edible Garden
    • Edible Garden Menu
    • Soil Fertilisation
    • No-Dig Gardens
    • Seed Planting Guide
    • Wicking Beds
    • Weed Free
    • Your Home Orchard
  • Recipes
    • Recipes Menu
    • Fruit Glut Recipes
    • Hints and Tips
    • Chutneys & Preserves
    • Jams, Jellies, Marmalades
    • Pickles & Relishes
    • Sauces & Curd
    • Dried Fruit, Cordial, Vinegar
  • Vegetables
    • Vegetables Menu
    • Cross-Pollination
    • Asparagus
    • Brassicaceae - the Cabbage Family
    • Capsicums, Chillis & Eggplants
    • Potatoes
    • Legumes
    • Pumpkins, Squashes and Zucchinis
    • Growing Shiitake Mushrooms
    • Sweet Potatoes
    • Tomatoes
    • Tubers
    • Umbelliferae
  • Old Fruit Tree Nursery Catalogues
  • Simple Sustainable Innovations
  • Contacts
Picture
FIGS

Updated April 2017







References:

1. [Goodmans1914]  Goodmans of Bairnsdale catalogue, 1914.

2.  [Railton1880]   Catalogue of Railton and Co., approx 1880.

3.  [Nobelius1931]    1931 Catalogue of C. A. Nobelius & Sons, Nurserymen, Gembrook     Nurseries Emmerald.  They were 1/6 ea or 15/- per dozen.

4.  [Gray1907]   1907 Catalogue of W G Gray, Nurseryman, Diamond Creek.    Trees sold for 1/- each

5.  [Levian]  Undated catalogue of Levian & Son, 183-185 Elizabeth St   Melbourne.  They had been established 70 years when the catalogue was   produced.  Trees sold for 1/6 ea, the same price as Nobelius in 1931.

6. [Baxter]  Baxter, P. 1981. Growing Fruit in Australia. Nelson:       Melbourne.

7. [Brennan]  Bennan, G., 1995. The Voluptuous Fig. Pp 82-87 in Garden       Design, Aug/Sep 1995 (New York). Photographs of seven American varieties.

8.  [Cornucopia], S. 1990. Cornucopia: a Source Book of Edible Plants.   S Facciola Kampong Publications: Vista, California.

9.   [Lord], Brunning's Australian Gardener 1957  E E Lord. Angus &       Robertson: Melbourne.

10.   [Sci]   List of wax models kept at the Scienceworks Museum, 2  Booker St Spotswood. At the Museum there is a substantial number  of wax models of apples and this may provide an excellent means of identifying many of the un-named varieties that are possibly rare heritage varieties as well as confirming or otherwise the identity of some of the ones that are being re-discovered. The collection can be viewed on weekdays between 10 am and 4:30pm, by previous  arrangement on 03 9392 4819 and ask for Liza Dale.

11.  [Burnley] List of fruit trees grown at the Royal Horticultural Gardens, Richmond Park, Burnley, in 1896. Thanks to the State Library of Victoria for allowing us to use the list.

12.  [Shum]  Australian Gardening of Today.  W A Shum, c. 1950?. Sun News Pictorial: Melbourne.

VARIETIES RECORDED AS HAVING BEEN GROWN IN AUSTRALIA:

Varieties known to be still grown are marked (*). Synonyms used in Australia are listed in lower case.  Known growers of each variety are shown as initials at the end of each entry.

A BOIS JASPER  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

ADAM  [Levian]  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

ADRIATIC   See White Adriatic.

ANGELIQUE NOIR  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

AUBIQUE BLANCHE  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

ABUIQUE NOIR  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

ARCHIPEL - see De L'Archipel.

BETADA  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

BLACK BOURGASSOTTE   Excellent dessert fig, medium, broader than long,  skin black, pulp dark red.  [Goodmans1914]  Whereabouts unknown.

BLACK GENOA (*) [Large Black Genoa?, Black Ischia?, San Pedro [Baxter], San Piero (Glowinski)]  Large sized, purple skin, red flesh, sweet & rich flavour [Baxter]. Large vigorous tree, fruit large, skin purple, flesh dark red, very rich and sweet, but quality only fair. Not suitable  for drying (Glowinski 1991). Still commercially available, Flemings.  Brunning's 1914 and 1957 list Black Ischia as the common dark fig grown  locally. Mont Albert #1.

BLACK ISCHIA  [Nero, Black Genoa?] Deep Purple and rich; medium. [Gray1907] [Burnley].  [Nobelius1931] Small breba crop, violet tinged pith. Main crop small to medium, oblique pyrifom to turbinate, purplish black skin with dull bloom, pulp strawberry [Cornucopia]. Best purple fig, large and delicious, ripens middle January on [Shum]. Still common in cultivation (Brunnings 1957). Whereabouts unknown,

BLACK PROVENCE  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown
 
BLUE PROVENCE  True blue, large, late (Brunnings 1916).

BLANCHE ROYAL  [Sci]  Whereabouts unknown 

BONDANCE PRECOCE  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

BOURJASSOTTE BLANCHE  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

BOURJASSOTTE GRIS  Pyriform fruit, skin greenish-violet, darker at the  apex, pulp strawberry, quality fair to good, used in England for forcing  [Cornucopia]. [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

BOURJASSOTTE NOIR  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

BROWN TURKEY (*)  [Everbearer, Italian Everbearing, Black Spanish,  Eastern Brown Turkey (US), Common Purple, Brown Naples, Blue Burgundy,  Lee's Perpetual]
The earliest fig on the market, huge, pyriform, dark brown, flesh red, juicy, very hardy [Goodmans1914]. [Nobelius1931] Large fig; first class quality; a good bearer [Railton1880].  Large brown, very good; medium. [Gray1907]  [Levian]
Mid to late, medium size, brown skin, pinkish brown flesh, vigorous tree, breba crop light. Can be trained as a hedge of annual shoots cut back each winter [Baxter]. One of the hardiest figs, sweet but often a little bland, crops for 3 months from February (Glowinski 1991). [Sci]. Still commercially available, Flemings.  GG #2, SC #11, KA.

BROWN ISCHIA  Pale brown colour; a good variety.  Medium.  [Railton1880] Whereabouts unknown 

BRUNSWICK  (*) [Magnolia (Texas), Madonna] Large, skin violet-brown, flesh reddish brown, a fine fig. [Goodmans1914]. Large fruit, of a pale brown colour, very rich flavour, medium [Railton1880].  Large, pale brown, sugary; medium.  [Gray1907] Reddish brown skin, strawberry-amber pulp tasting of honey. Good for eating fresh, canning or preserving (in US). Espaliered against south-facing walls in England [Brennan]. Pulp amber, tinged strawberry, hollow at the centre. Breba crop lacks flavour, main crop sweet, fairly rich, oblique/turbinate. Good for preserving, but not for drying.  (Facciola 1990). [Burnley].  [Sci].  Burwood #1 fits this description.  (GG).

BULL'S NO. 1  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

CAPE WHITE  [Blanche]  Early maturing, medium sized, green skin, cream  flesh, compact tree, good for jam [Baxter]. Baxter includes a photo of a small tree labelled Cape White. Whereabouts unknown.

CAPRI (Imported)  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

CASTLE KENNEDY   [Burnley]  (Brunnings 1916). Whereabouts unknown

CHEMEGHOUR  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

COL DI SIGNORA NERO  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

COL DI SIGNORA BLANCA  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

CLEMENTINE   [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

DATTE  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

D'AGEN  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

DE L'ARCHIPEL [Osborne's Prolific, Archipel, Neveralla]  Good breba crop. Main crop variable in size, medium to large, bronze skin tinged violet,  pulp amber. Fruit has better flavour in cool climates [Cornucopia] [Burnley]. (Brunnings 1916)  Whereabouts unknown

DE L'ARCHPEL  [Sci]

DE ST. JEANE  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

DE QUARTRE SAISSONS  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

DOREE  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

DR. HOGGS BLACK  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

DWARF PROLIFIC  [Burnley]  [Sci]  Whereabouts unknown

EARLY VIOLETTE  [Burnley]  Facciola (1990) lists Early Violet - No breba crop, main crop small, turbinate to oblate-spherical, chocolate-  brown skin, strawberry pulp, fair to good quality, subject to spoilage.  Whereabouts unknown 

EXCEL  Early maturing, medium size, light yellow skin, amber flesh,  excellent fresh fruit, under trial at Narara Arboretum, NSW. [Baxter] . Fruit medium to large, ovoid to globose, light greenish-yellow skin, pulp light amber, excellent as fresh fruit, canning or drying, tree strong and vigorous [Cornucopia].

FIGUE D'OR  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

FLANDERS  Mid-season, medium size, greenish-purple skin, pinkish-red  flesh, good flavour fresh, under trial at Narara Arboretum, NSW [Baxter]. Pyriform fruit with long slender neck, skin light tawny with longitudinal violet stripes and white flecks, pulp light strawberry with strong, rich flavour, excellent fresh fruit for the home garden [Cornucopia].

GOURANDI  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

GREEN ISCHIA  (Verte) Possibly = White Ischia. Brebas rarely produced.  Main crop small turbinate, no neck or pyriform with flattened neck, pulp  dark strawberry, good quality, late [Cornucopia].

GROSSALE  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

GROSSE BLANCHE DE MARSEILLES  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

GROSSdE MONSTREUSE DE LIPARI  Fruit very large; skin brown; flesh red, juicy, good flavour; medium. [Gray1907] [Burnley] Whereabouts unknown

GROSSE MONSTRUEUSE  [Sci]  Whereabouts unknown 

GROSSE ROUGE DE BORDEAUX  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

GROSSE VERTE  [Levian] [Burnley]. See White Adriatic.

GROSSE YERTE  Large; pale green fruit.  Late   [Railton1880]

HILLS LARGE BROWN  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

ISCHIA - see White Ischia

JERUSALEUM  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

LARGE BLACK GENOA  [Burnley]  [Nobelius1931] Blackish purple, with a thick blue bloom; red flesh, richly flavoured , and a good bearer, medium.  [Gray1907]  [Levian]

LARGE BLUE  = Blue Provence ?  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

LONGUE BLANCHE DE PROVENCE  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

MACKENWOOD  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

MADELINE  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

MALTA  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

MARSEILLAISE  = Marseilles ? [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

MINORCA  BIANCA Green skin, fine; medium  [Gray1907]

MOUISSOUNE  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

MONACO BIANCO  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

NAGRONNE  [Burnley]  Facciola 1990 lists Negronne [Bordeaux, Violette de Bordeaux] - Reasonable breba crop purplish-black skin, pith  tinged violet, pulp strawberry, rich. Main crop small, spherical/pyriform obovate, pith white.  Whereabouts unknown 

NEGRONE  Large, black, excellent; medium.  [Gray1907]

NEGRO LARGE  ([Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

NEGRO LARGO  (Brunnings 1916)  Wherabouts unknown.

NEGRO DE ESPAGNE  [Burnley]  = Black Spanish/ Brown Turkey ? Whereabouts unknown 

NEPOLITAINE  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

NIGRA  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

OEIL DE PERDRIX  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

OIEL DE PERDRIEUX  Small, dark chestnut, flesh copper colored, firm,   sugary, well suited for drying.  [Goodmans1914]  Whereabouts unknown.

OSBORNES PROLIFIC  [Burnley]  Synonym of De L'Archipel (Brunnings 1916).

PALLANE  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

PRESTON PROLIFIC (*)  Large, greenish-brown, amber flesh, high quality  fig, vigorous tree, difficult to pick [Baxter]. Large purplish- brown, pyriform, short neck, moderate stem. Trees sold by Flemings under  this name are variably round-flattened with no neck or slightly  turbinate. When ripe the skin often tears around the stem. Not mentioned  by Glowinski (1990). GG #1, HB.

RECOURSE NOIR  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

ROCARDI  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

ROYALE BLANCHE  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

ROYALE VINEYARD  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

SAN PEDRO   Smyrna type. (not the same as Black Genoa) Best in hot dry  climates (Glowinski 1991). Good breba crop. Fruit medium to large,  turbinate, Yellow-green skin, amber pulp tinged strawberry. Main crop  figs have less flavour [Cornucopia]. [Burnley]. Whereabouts unknown. 

SINGLETON PERPETUAL  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

SMYRNA   Medium size; Pale green colour; very sweet. Medium [Railton1880] [Nobelius1931] [Levian] [Sci]

SYMNRA (Imported)   [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

ST. DOMINIQUE VIOLET   Large dark violet fig. [Goodmans1914]

ST DOMINIQUE VIOLETTE  [Sci].

ST DOMINIQUE   [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

ST DOMINIQUE VIOLET  [Levian]

ST JOHN  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

TOULOUSIENNE   [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

TROJAN  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

VERDOGNOLA [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

VERDAL  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

VERDAL DE VALENCESSES  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

VERMISSIEQUE  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

VIOLETTE GROSSE  [Burnley]  [Sci]  Whereabouts unknown

WHITE ADRIATIC  (*) (Verdonne, Adriatic, Grosse Verte, Nebian). Fruit large, round, green skin; flesh white, rich; best drying fig, early. [Gray1907]  [Nobelius1931]  [Burnley] White skin, red flesh, ripens in February (Schum 1950). Italian variety, "filled with strawberry jelly", small breba crop has light chartreuse skin, later main crop is blushed with purple. If pollinated the flesh turns a bright ruby red. Vigorous tree, leafs out early so subject to spring frost damage (in California where used in dried fig industry), has the largest leaves of any variety [Brennan]. Mid season, medium large, brownish-green skin, pink to red flesh, excellent flavour, eaten fresh, spreading tree [Baxter]. Fruit somewhat hollow at the centre, good for drying (Facciola 1999). [Burnley]. Still common in cultivation [Lord]. SC.

WHITE BOURJASSOTTE  [Sci]  Whereabouts unknown 

WHITE GENOA  (*) (Genoa, White Marseilles, Marseilles, Figre Blanche,  Blanche, Ford's Seedling, White Naples, Lattarula, Lemon). Large, pyriform, skin yellowish green mottled with white, pulp amber; one of the best of old varieties for all purposes [Goodmans1914]. Large, pale brown, very sweet, medium [Railton1880]. [Nobelius1931] [Levian] Burnley]
Light chartreuse skin, rich amber to yellow flesh, lemony flavour at its peak, eat fresh from the tree [Brennan]. Yellow-green skin, amber flesh, good mild flavour, recommended for cooler areas (Glowinski 1991). Light breba crop of large oblique-pyriform fruit with light strawberry pulp, hollow at the centre. Main crop blemished by circular brown spots at maturity, thin skinned [Cornucopia]. Facciola distinguishes between White Genoa and White Marseilles.  Still common in cultivation [Lord]. Still commercially available, Flemings.  SC.

WHITE ISCHIA  (*)  [Ischia] [Levian] [Burnley].
Small green fruit, strawberry pulp. Grown in pots in the UK. Still common in cultivation [Lord]. Facciola's (1990) description is similar to Green Ischia except that this one "ripens early" RR #4, RR #5.

WHITE MARSEILLES - see White Genoa.

WHITE PROVENENCE [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown.

WHITE PROVENCE  [Sugar Fig] Valuable tree, producing a lot of fruit over  a long period, beginning in January (in SA?) [Shum].

WHITE PACIFIC  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

WILLIAMS PROLIFIC  [Burnley]  Whereabouts unknown

YELLOW ISCHIA  Large, yellow, flesh red; medium.  [Gray1907]


Picture
View the collected wax models of heritage figs at the Science Museum, Spotswood, Victoria, Australia

Acknowledgments:  Graeme George

Non-profit groups such as garden groups, organic groups, permaculture groups or similar are encouraged to distribute this material by computer printouts or photostatting.  Groups are encouraged to make their own pamphlets to photocopy and sell for profits for their group.

It is asked that anyone intending to use this information in commercially published form ask the permission of Neil Barraclough RMB 1477 Stratford.

Copyright 19/5/2001 14/08/08  April 2017

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.