By "The Arboreum Company"

This fig created a sensation and fairly ignited the fig renaissance in California when we discovered it on a rare fruit growers' journey to the doomed fig orchard at UC Davis in summer 1987. Tramping through the weeds in August temperatures, we were ready to go no farther after tasting the fruits of this tree. That tree provided cuttings for us the next winter, and all now grown in America are its progeny ... the rest is history.

Two regions of France are associated with this variety, each seemingly disclaiming to be its homeland. In Provence, this variety is known as Violette de Bordeaux, while in the southwest of France, it is called Figue de Marseille! To further complicate matters, there exists at Aix-en-Provence a very nearly resemblng variety, 'Negronne.' Whether the figs sold in the Pacific Northwest under this name are the true Negronne or Violet de Bordeaux is unsettled, but the fruits are much alike.

Tree is with same deeply cut leaves, with yellow petioles stained purple, of Black Ischia, but is very vigorous, upright, fast growing. Some breba crop, main crop dark black, flesh red, sweet and of rich fig flavor, a little dry unless well irrigated. Everyone's favorite black fig.