Hative D'Argenteuil

Hâtive d'Argenteuil was received by the USDA's Riverside, California collection from southern France in 1928, documented under Plant Introduction No. 69,016 in Ira Condit's fig monograph, and was not identified as matching any other variety already in that collection. It takes its name from Argenteuil, a suburb of Paris historically known for market gardening, with "hâtive" meaning early in French. The fruit is small, oblique-spherical with a short thick neck, violet-colored, with strawberry-colored pulp; the second crop dries readily without spoiling, and there is generally no breba crop. Growers who have tasted it describe an unusually complex flavor — accounts vary from pineapple and tropical notes to a lemony berry-honey syrup character, with tender, sweet skin. It ripens early (some growers report as few as 85 days from fruit set) and can be left on the tree to concentrate its flavor without much fear of souring. It is a genuinely difficult variety to root, and a slow grower, so grafting or air-layering is often recommended over rooting cuttings directly.