Creations complexity at its best – Issue #81

Hello Explorer,
If you didn’t know I have quite an interest in Fig (Ficus spp.) trees. I have numerous different species of Ficus in my collection at this stage. This week I saw that there are a few that has pushed their first figs, which made me wonder how many people know how intricate figs are?
Figs possibly have one of the most intricate and complex seed production methods there are. The fig, or fruit that we usually eat, is not just a fruit, but starts off as the flowering structure of the plant. It is an inverted flower structure, where the flowers are on the inside and the flesh is on the outside, this is known as a syconium. This syconium is pollinated by fig wasps, which are host specific, which means that each Ficus species has its own specific wasp that will pollinate it. There are a few exceptions to the rule, where a Ficus species will have two or three wasp species, or where a wasp species will be associated with two or more Ficus species.
The syconium goes through three distinct developmental stages, which incorporates the fig wasps into the cycle. The three stages are known as the Female phase, seed development or larval growth phase and then lastly the male phase.
The female phase is when the bottom of the fruit still has a small opening that is not yet closed off. At this stage the female flowers are receptive to pollen, and the female wasps will enter the syconium through the opening. The female wasps will brush against the stigmas of the female flowers and pollinate them with the pollen that is stuck to their bodies. The female wasps will also lay eggs into the ovary of the flower. The female wasp then dies, and her body is completely absorbed by the fig. The grub that hatches from the egg will make a gall from the ovary and will consume the inside of the seed that would’ve developed. The female wasps won’t lay eggs into all the female flowers, and those that are missed and are pollinated will grow a fig seed.
After the female cycle the seed development or larval growth stage commences. This is the stage in which the seed will grow and mature and the larvae inside the galls will develop into mature wasps. This part of the cycle can last anything from three weeks to nine months, depending on the Ficus species and environmental conditions. The seed development, larval growth and onset of the male phase are all in sync.
During the male phase of the fig, the male wasps will emerge first from their gall. They will then search for females to mate with. Once they mated with a female they will die in the fig just as their mother, completing their entire life inside a single fig. By the time the females emerge the male flowers are mature, and they are releasing pollen into the fig, covering the female wasps with pollen. The female wasps will then chew a hole through the flesh of the fig and make their escape into the outside world, where they will go looking for another receptive fig that is in the female phase of its lifecycle.
Did you know that fig trees have such an intricate and complex reproductive cycle using very strict mutualistic relationships? Did you know that fig wasps even existed?

PS: No, you do not have to worry, as a ripe fig, that is ready to be eaten will have absorbed all the wasp remnants and you will not be eating any wasps. A fig that is picked too early though will have some fig wasps inside, but do not worry they are harmless to humans. Also, that little wasp only ate the fig for its entire life, thus it can’t be anything else than modified fig, so you’ll be fine if you eat it!

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