Fig

Ficus carica · Fig family (Moraceae)

Hi, I'm Fig! I look plain outside, but inside I'm pink, sweet and full of tiny crunchy seeds!

Fig
Image: Ivar Leidus · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

What does it help with?

  • Vitamins & good food

    Figs give you fiber The chewy part of plants that helps your tummy and poop move well. for your tummy and potassium for your muscles.

    🟢 Scientists are sure

  • Tummy & digestion

    In one test, fig paste helped grown-ups who found it hard to poop.

    🟠 Still being studied

What do the colored dots mean?
  • 🟢 Scientists are sure Strong evidence (several good human trials)
  • 🟡 Scientists think so Some evidence (small human studies)
  • 🟠 Still being studied Early evidence (lab or animal studies only)
  • 🔵 Grandma's wisdom Traditional use (not scientifically confirmed)

How we grade evidence

Careful if…

For kids OK in normal food Pills, powders & oils: ask a grown-up first

Fresh and dried figs are a great snack. Dried figs are sticky and sweet, so brush your teeth after. Cut them up for little kids.

  • Skin burns with sunlight

    ⚠️ Ask a doctor first

    Don't play with fig leaves or sap in the sun. The sap can burn your skin.

  • Allergies

    👀 Be careful

    A few people are allergic to figs, especially if latex, like in balloons, makes them itchy.

Natural does not always mean safe. Always ask a grown-up before trying something new, and a doctor or pharmacist before taking any supplement. Try the safety check →

What is it?

A fig is a soft, sweet fruit that grows on a fig tree. Inside, it is pink or red. It has lots of tiny seeds that crunch.

Fig trees love hot, dry places like Morocco. You can eat figs fresh in summer, or dried all year long.

How people use it

In the kitchen

  • Eaten fresh in summer, or dried with nuts in winter.
  • Made into jam, or cooked with meat in sweet tagines.

Traditional uses

🔵 Grandma's wisdom — not proven by science

  • Dried figs have long been a winter food around the Mediterranean.

Home & garden

  • Fig trees give cool shade in hot gardens and courtyards.

Fun facts

  1. A fig is really lots of tiny flowers hiding inside a skin!

  2. People may have planted fig trees more than 11,000 years ago.

  3. In Moroccan Darija, figs are called “karmous”.

  4. Snap a fig leaf and a white, milky sap comes out.

Grow it yourself

  • Easy
  • Lots of sun
  • A little water
  • Grows in a pot
  • About 1 to 3 years after planting a cutting
  1. In winter, ask a grown-up to cut a small branch from a fig tree.
  2. Push the bottom half into a pot of damp soil.
  3. Keep it in a bright spot, and water when the soil feels dry.
  4. When new leaves grow, move it to a big pot or the garden.

💡 Wear gloves: fig sap can hurt skin in the sun.

Quiz time!

Answer 3 questions. Get 2 right to win this plant’s badge for your garden!

  1. What is really inside a fig?

  2. What can fig sap do in the sun?

  3. What do Moroccans call figs in Darija?

Your plant card

Print it, cut it out and collect them all!

Fig

Ficus carica

Superpowers
Vitamins & good food Tummy & digestion
Careful
Skin burns with sunlight, Allergies
Growing
⭐

🤩 A fig is really lots of tiny flowers hiding inside a skin!

supplementsmorocco.com

For grown-ups: science, amounts & safety

Tap to open

General information, not medical advice. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist before using any herbal supplement — especially during pregnancy or breastfeeding, for children, before surgery, or if you take medicines. Medical disclaimer

What the research says

Use Evidence Details
Vitamins & good food 🟢 Strong evidence (several good human trials) Per 100 g, raw figs provide 74 kcal, 2.9 g fibre, 232 mg potassium and 35 mg calcium[1].
Tummy & digestion 🟠 Early evidence (lab or animal studies only) In a randomised, placebo-controlled trial in 80 adults with functional constipation, 8 weeks of fig paste shortened colon transit time and improved stool form and abdominal discomfort[2]. A meta-analysis of fruit trials suggests kiwifruit may work better than fig paste; larger studies are needed[3].

Who should be careful & interactions

  • ⚠️ Ask a doctor first Skin burns with sunlight: Fig tree sap on the skin followed by sunlight can cause a painful, blistering, sunburn-like rash that may get worse over the following days (phytophotodermatitis)[4]. Wear gloves and long sleeves when picking or pruning, and wash sap off the skin.
  • 👀 Be careful Allergies: Figs are among the foods linked, less strongly, with latex allergy (latex-fruit syndrome)[5]. Reactions to fresh or dried figs, including anaphylaxis, can also occur in people sensitised to the weeping fig houseplant (Ficus benjamina), even without latex allergy[6].

Nutrition (per 100 g of raw figs (about 2 medium figs))[1]

Energy 74 kcal
Carbohydrates 19.2 g
Sugars 16.3 g
Fiber 2.9 g
Protein 0.8 g
Calcium 35 mg
Magnesium 17 mg
Potassium 232 mg

Names & identifiers

Scientific name
Ficus carica
Also called
Common fig, Karmous
Wikidata
Q36146

Sources

  1. Figs, raw (FDC ID 173021) USDA FoodData Central · Database
  2. Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of Ficus carica paste for the management of functional constipation Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition · 2016 · Clinical trial · PubMed
  3. Effect of fruit intake on functional constipation: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized and crossover studies Frontiers in Nutrition · 2022 · Research review · PubMed
  4. Botanical Briefs: Fig Phytophotodermatitis (Ficus carica) Cutis · 2024 · Research review · PubMed
  5. Managing latex allergies at home MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine (NIH) · Guideline
  6. Cross-reactivity between Ficus benjamina latex and fig fruit in patients with clinical fig allergy Clinical & Experimental Allergy · 2003 · Study · PubMed

✅ Reviewed by sm_owner on September 26, 2026.

Last updated September 26, 2026. How we write and check our pages

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