Common Fig                         FI-kus KAR-i-ka

• Broadleaf deciduous tree or shrub, to 10 m, stout branches, rounded crown.  Leaves simple, alternate, 3-5 lobed, rarely undivided, 10-20 cm long, similar width, base usually heart-shaped(cordate), lobes usually obovate and obtuse at the apex and irregularly toothed, dark green above, both surfaces rough to the touch because of stout, stiff hairs; petiole 2-5 cm long.  Flowers are formed inside a solitary, pear-shaped receptacle, which at maturity is 5-8 cm long, and greenish or brownish violet.
• Sun, not particular about soil.
• Hardy to USDA Zone 7         Native to the eastern Mediterranean and western Asia.  Long cultivated and many cultivars available.   Some, such as 'Desert King', will produce fruit that ripens in the Pacific Northwest.
• carica: of Caria, western Asia (a region southwest of modern Turkey).
• Oregon State Univ. campus: east of Oxford House near Jefferson Ave. and 9th St.