There's this giant tree in the village (in southern Mexico) near my husband's aunt's house. A big giant beautiful tree that is a haven to birds, there is currently a flock of migrating swallows loving it. I asked several people what kind of tree is that. And why are we planting those?
I asked an elder this past weekend, "It's a fig." They said, "Really?" I asked the leaves don't have that fig leaf shape, I've since learned many figs don't. The elder said, it used to give small fruits that were like figs on the inside. And when she was a child (she's currently 70) it was pretty much as big as it is now, and they would climb it and eat the fruits. Apparently now it no longer fruits, though it's fenced into someone's pasture now, and there are seriously so many birds in it, I could easily have fruit we never see.
Today I sat down with my search engine of choice and found that tree- it is a fig, a
Ficus Maxima
Ficus Maxima
The process of identifying it was so satisfying, I just wanted to share with like-minded folk.
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