Do figs really have no flowers?

Is there really no flowers?

Figs appear to have no flowers, but they actually do have flowers. They are a typical plant that appears to have no flowers but actually has flowers. Compared to those flowering plants that bloom brilliantly and beautifully to attract bees and butterflies, figs are cryptic plants.

Why does it look like there are no flowers?

In fact, the figs we usually eat are not its real fruits, but the fleshy balls formed by the expansion of the receptacle. The so-called figs are actually multiple fruits formed by the development of the huge receptacle and stamens. When you break open a fig, you will see filaments and many small seeds inside. The filaments are the stamens, and the small stems are the seeds that are produced by pollination. The fig flower has only small stamens and no petals. The large receptacle wraps up the small stamens, and only a little pink stamen can be seen on the top, while the stamens grow along the four walls of the receptacle.

How are flowers pollinated?

The stamens of the fig are hidden in the receptacle, so the wind cannot blow away the pollen, and it is not easy for insects to enter and exit to collect pollen. So how are fig flowers pollinated? It turns out that there is a small hole at the top of the fig receptacle that allows only one type of insect to help pollinate it, the wasp. Wasps lay their eggs inside fig flowers. The inflorescence grows and the eggs hatch into small wasps. It circles around in the flowers, with pollen grains on its body, flies out from the small hole on the top of the fig, and flies to another fig to lay eggs, helping the figs to pollinate. After the female flowers are pollinated, they will produce seeds.