Common Fig
Ficus carica
Found in forest edges and thickets; Coastal dunes and beaches. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
—
Not native
Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 76%
- Height
- 10–30 feet
- Spread
- 10–30 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Woody perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- May to August
- Fruiting season
- July to October
JFMAMJJASOND
Recorded in 5 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
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Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
11CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Ficus
- Acharia stimuleaSaddleback Caterpillar Moth
- Automeris ioIo Moth
- Eacles imperialisImperial Moth, Imperial Spiny Caterpillar
- Euclea delphiniiSpiny Oak-Slug Moth
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Megalopyge opercularisSouthern Flannel Moth, Puss Caterpillar
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Platynota rostranaOmnivorous Platynota
- Prionoxystus robiniaeCarpenterworm Moth, Black Locust Borer, Cottonwood Borer
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
Show all 11
- Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
12BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Ficus
- Aphelocoma californicaCalifornia Scrub-Jay
- Catharus guttatusHermit Thrush
- Catharus ustulatusSwainson's Thrush
- Icterus bullockiiBullock's Oriole
- Melospiza melodiaSong Sparrow
- Patagioenas leucocephalaWhite-crowned Pigeon
- Pheucticus melanocephalusBlack-headed Grosbeak
- Pipilo maculatusSpotted Towhee
- Sialia mexicanaWestern Bluebird
- Turdus migratoriusAmerican Robin
Show all 12
- Tyrannus tyrannusEastern Kingbird
- Zonotrichia leucophrysWhite-crowned Sparrow
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Moraceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 7a–10b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to neutral
- Flower color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- July
- Fruit ends
- October
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “May to August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Green” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Fruit begins · “July” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Hardiness · “Zones 7a–10b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “10–30 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- primary_flower_color · “green” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “10–30 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Edible Fig; Fig; Garden Fig
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: Northern Tier (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications