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Questions and Answers: 2023

Question: Hello. I read a lot of information about fig trees and there is confusion - conflicting information on each site. …

• Question

  Hello. I read a lot of information about fig trees and there is confusion - conflicting information on each site. Tell me, is the statement true? "Fig trees are dioecious plants. Figs are formed on one tree, and caprifigs are formed on the other tree. Pollination occurs with the help of blastophage wasps. Figs do not develop on male trees". And one more thing: can female fig plants bear fruit without male ones? Sincerely

  Answer

  Dear Kampan, Many figs are dioecious, a word that comes from "two houses". Essentially, pollen-bearing flowers are borne on one tree and ovule-bearing flowers on another (so, there are different sexes of plants, like in willows). There are some figs that are monoecious (one house), so the pollen-bearing and ovule-bearing flowers are all separate, but borne on one tree (like oaks). In other words, the individual flowers of figs are unisexual, unlike many flowers where both types of parts are present (like lillies). Different types of fig trees are either monoecious or dioecious. Capifigs are the array of pollen-bearing flowers on trees where the species are dioecious. But (an important exception) some caprifigs due produce some ovule-bearing flowers so that they can produce some fruit. For dioecious species, it is my understanding that these plants are outcrossing, so they require pollination to set fruit (though there may be some exceptions to this somewhere that I have never read about). I hope this is helpful. If you still have questions, feel free to ask.