Thermalito Fig

Thermalito was discovered and popularized by a fig collector known in the community as BlueMalibu, found among the hundreds of wild fig trees growing throughout the small community of Thermalito, California. Real, documented local history traces those wild trees back to Americo Ghianda, grandson of one of the town's founders, who arrived in 1856 and established a 47-acre "Italian Gardens" farm, later expanded by 17 more acres in 1916, where he planted figs, olives, and grapevines and started the county's first winery. His fig orchard was planted with Adriatic-type stock his family had brought during their immigration from Europe. In 1898, the fig wasp began its documented northward spread from an established beachhead in Fresno, eventually reaching Ghianda's Adriatic trees; birds then spread the resulting genetically diverse, wasp-pollinated seeds throughout the surrounding area, giving rise to the wild seedling population from which Thermalito is believed to have emerged. The fruit has yellow-green skin and deep strawberry-red flesh, with a sweet, berry-like flavor genuinely reminiscent of Adriatic. It ripens relatively early, from late August into September (sometimes into October), and growers specifically praise it for real resistance to splitting in heavy rain and to souring in extreme heat — genuinely useful practical traits. It roots easily from cuttings and grows vigorously.