Did you know? A fig isn't just any fruit; in fact, it's not even a fruit at all.

Strictly speaking, figs are inverted flowers.

Fig trees do not flower in the same way as other fruit trees such as almond or cherry trees.

Figs have a very curious history.

First of all, they are not technically a fruit, but an infructescence (a group of fruits).

And secondly, they need a sacrificial wasp to reproduce, an insect that dies inside the fig.

Simply put, figs are a type of upside-down flower that blooms inside this large, dark, reddish bud we call figs.

Each flower produces a single nut and a single seed called an "achene."

The fig is made up of several achenes, which give it that characteristic crunchy texture.

Therefore, when we eat a fig, we are eating hundreds of fruits.

But the most incredible thing is the special pollination process that fig flowers need to reproduce.

They can't rely on wind or bees bringing pollen like other fruits, so they need a species known as fig wasps.

These insects carry their genetic material and allow them to reproduce.

For their part, wasps could not live without figs, since they deposit their larvae inside the fruit.

This relationship is known as symbiosis or mutualism.

Today, the vast majority of producers of this fruit no longer need the work of wasps.

Most varieties of figs for human consumption are partly non-genetic.

This means that they always bear fruit in the absence of a pollinator.