Marseillaise Fig

Marseillaise is a French variety popularized by the well-respected French fig nurseryman Pierre Baud, also documented elsewhere in this database in connection with other French varieties. It has been genuinely, frequently confused by American collectors with the similarly-named "White Marseilles," already documented separately in this database — despite the name similarity, growers are clear these are two distinct varieties: White Marseilles is a honey-type fig with white pulp and brown seeds, while Marseillaise has a reddish interior, smaller fruit, a different shape, and a genuinely different flavor and texture, with notes reminiscent of brown sugar. That real naming confusion has, by some accounts, caused Marseillaise to be underrated among American growers who may unknowingly dismiss it based on assumptions about the unrelated White Marseilles. Marseillaise is documented as part of a specific trio of related French varieties alongside Nerucciolo d'Elba and Verdino del Nord, also documented in this database — all three are genuinely slower-growing, dwarf-sized trees with closer node spacing, producing smaller fruit that ripens consistently at high quality.