Fig trees are ancient. They appear in the Bible, in Greek mythology, in the writings of Pliny the Elder. They have fed civilizations, shaded courtyards, and marked the passage of time in gardens across the Mediterranean for thousands of years.

They are generous trees. A single fig tree in good soil can produce hundreds of figs a season. They ask for little and give abundantly. And unlike most fruit trees, they carry their fruit with an almost mysterious patience — ripening slowly, sweetly, in their own time.

But what makes a fig tree truly remarkable is not its fruit. It is its resilience. A fig tree cut to the ground will grow back. A cutting wrapped in a damp cloth and carried across an ocean will take root in new soil. They survive. They endure. They travel.

Some fig trees have traveled long distances, in fact some have traveled around the world.

Tucked into front yards and backyards across America are fig trees that have crossed oceans with families coming to America — carried as cuttings tucked inside luggage, wrapped in an old newspaper or a pair of pants, planted in new soil, and tended for generations. These trees are living connections to another place and another time. They are loved, cherished, and passed down like the most precious of heirlooms.

The Great Fig Tree Project exists to collect and preserve the stories of heirloom and family fig trees so they are not lost. We document the trees, the stories of the trees and families, the journeys, and when desired we will propagate a tree and grow it in the Great Fig Tree Project Orchard. Every fig tree in our archive has a story. We are here to tell them.

We started this project because we don't want to lose these trees — or their stories. Maybe it's a tree where cuttings have been passed down through your family for generations. Maybe it's a tree at your neighborhood school, your church, or your local park — one that's been there for decades. No one around today was there when it was planted, but they've heard the history from friends and family.

How You Can Help

If you have a fig tree with a story — we want to hear it. Submit your tree to the archive and help us preserve a piece of living history.

If your tree is especially meaningful and you would like to ensure its legacy continues, consider nominating it for the Great Fig Tree Project Orchard in Hammonton, New Jersey.

And if you know someone with a fig tree with a story — a neighbor, a relative, a friend — tell them about us. Every story matters.

The Great Fig Tree Project is a living archive. Like the trees we document, it is still growing.