Reba
It has a complexity of flavors. Rich sweet creamy brown sugar caramel dates with sun dried honeyed white mulberry ending with lingering notes of a slice of watermelon.
This tree has been on a little homestead that once was surrounded by olive orchards in the olive capital of the world aka the olive city. Our family once lived directly across the street from the little homestead when I was a baby and my sisters say this tree was there at that time. That means it’s been there for at least 43 years plus. I say plus because it was bearing fruit when I was a baby. Fast forward to today and my niece now lives on the little homestead. Her father has tried to kill this tree a few times by cutting it down. Every time it grows back stronger. Thank God he didn’t know you have to pull it out by the roots.
I’m not going to make claims that it’s a seedling however seedlings in Olive city happen as I’ve seen with my own eyes.
The fig wasp is alive and well in olive city. My guess is the original family of the homestead planted this tree because of its location. It’s located on private land with no trespassing. Since there are a lot of olives and Italian family’s from our town I like to imagine that this variety came from Italy but I honestly don’t have a clue.
I was the first in many years to take true interest in this fig tree. Since I’m doing the leg work to grow cuttings in the PNW to check to see if it’s common or not my niece told me to go ahead and give it a name. For integrity and respect for the fig community I’m adding the Unk to the beginning of the name for unknown, “Unk Olive City Gem”.
