A fig is a pear-shaped, edible fruit native to the Mediterranean and Western Asia, produced by the common fig tree (Ficus carica). Figs have a soft, chewy texture, a sweet flavor, and contain hundreds of tiny, edible seeds that give them a signature crunch.Key CharacteristicsBotanical Structure: Botanically, a fig isn't a traditional fruit, but rather a syconium. It is an inverted flower cluster where the tiny flowers bloom inside a fleshy, hollow structure before maturing into single-seeded drupelets.Tree & Leaves: The fig plant is a deciduous tree or large shrub that can grow up to 7–10 meters (23–33 feet) tall. It has large, dark-green, deeply 3 to 5-lobed leaves that are rough to the touch. Broken stems and leaves exude a white latex.Varieties: There are several hundred varieties, falling mostly into the Common, Smyrna, and San Pedro categories. Common figs are the most popular, as they produce fruit without requiring flower pollination by a fig wasp.