I Just Learned Where Figs Really Came From, And I'm Horrified

They have a terrifying relationship with wasps.

First came the news that capers and cloves are neither roots, fruits, leaves, nor veg: they’re both the flower buds from shrubs and trees, respectively.

Once harvested, they’re dried. Capers are then brined or salted.

But figs, which can be eaten fresh or dried, look far more like a “regular” fruit to me than either of those and are filled with what seem to be seeds.

So, I was surprised to learn that they’re technically flowers, and that some need to house dead wasps (oh, good) in order to fruit.

Nope, and it’s not a berry either. It’s an inverted flower.

This is more technically known as an “inflorescence,” the Ecological Society of America (ESA) said.

It happens when a bunch of flowers and seeds are housed in a........

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