Fruit

The fruit of a fig tree is technically a syconium (inverted flower cluster) and not a traditional fruit. This is important because it makes the topic of pollination more complex. This will be described more detail further down on this page. Edible figs are commonly referred to as fruit despite technically not being a fruit. These "fruits" can be divided into two types: main crop, and breba crop.

Main crop figs are produced on new wood. Fig trees will begin growing in the spring and the main crop figs will form on this new wood and ripen in the fall. Main crop figs are usually better tasting than breba crop figs, and when people think of eating figs they are usually thinking of main crop figs.

Caprified means that a female fig has been pollinated. A pollinated fig is called a caprified fig. Similarly, an unpollinated fig is called uncaprified.

This refers to the ability of a syconium (fruit) to develop without pollination. Common type figs are parthenocarpic, while smyrna type figs are not parthenocarpic. The San Pedro type fig is said to have a parthenocarpic breba crop.

W. B. Story  described the usage of the term "parthenocarpic" for figs as 'unfortuate'. While this word generally means that a fruit develops without pollination, the technical definition of the term is that the fruit develops from the ovary (carpellary tissue) of the flower without fertilization; ripe caprifigs and seedless figs consist of a fruit-like vegetative structure that is entirely devoid of carpellary tissue, so botanically this is not the most accurate term. Story stated that the more accurate terms were Caducous (requiring pollination to produce fruit) and Persistent (not requiring pollination to produce fruit). 

Many experienced fig growers will often use the terms parthenocarpic, non-parthenocarpic, persistent, and caducous interchangeably.

Figs that require pollination in order to develop. Smyrna- type figs are caducous.

This is another name for San Pedro type figs. These varieties will develop breba crop but drop main drop unless they are pollinated.

This means that the syconium of a fig variety is able to fully develop without pollination. Persistency is a genetic trait that can apply to either male or female figs. Persistent female figs are "Common type figs". Persistent male figs are called Persistent Caprifigs. Persistent Caprifigs are responsible for passing on the persistent trait to all offspring as described below. These types of figs are also called "parthenocarpic."

These are "seedlike bodies". They develop parthenocarpically without pollination but are not true seeds and are not capable of reproduction.

Stimulative partheocarpy is induced by an outside stiumulous. One stimulous is entry of the female fig wasp, but others could be blowing air into the syconium, intoducing dead pollen, or invasion my other insects. Stimulative parthenocarpy is thought to be the reason why some San Pedro-type figs sometimes ripen main crop fruit without pollination, especially in the Pacific Northwest.