fig

Any of a group of trees belonging to the mulberry family, including the many cultivated varieties of F. carica, originally from western Asia. They produce two or three crops of fruit a year. Eaten fresh or dried, figs have a high sugar content and laxative properties. (Genus Ficus, family Moraceae.)

In the wild, F. carica is dependent on the fig wasp for pollination, and the wasp in turn is parasitic on the flowers. The tropical banyan (F. benghalensis) has less attractive edible fruit, and roots that grow down from its branches. The bo tree under which Buddha became enlightened is the Indian peepul or wild fig (F. religiosa).