Fig trees on poles ("figueres estalonades") (Formentera)

Fig trees on poles ("figueres estalonades")

Cultural and agricultural landscape of "Figueres d'ombra adormida", as the Ibiza poet Marià Villangómez would say
Fig trees on poles ("figueres estalonades")

Cultural and agricultural landscape of "Figueres d'ombra adormida", as the Ibiza poet Marià Villangómez would say
Fig trees on poles ("figueres estalonades")

Cultural and agricultural landscape of "Figueres d'ombra adormida", as the Ibiza poet Marià Villangómez would say
Fig trees on poles ("figueres estalonades")

Cultural and agricultural landscape of "Figueres d'ombra adormida", as the Ibiza poet Marià Villangómez would say

Fig trees on poles ("figueres estalonades")

The figs grow with help from techniques that let them spread out without separating too far from mother earth. One of the most famous is known as Na Blanqueta de Can Mestre. They are found in different areas of the island.

The genetic engineering done by the rural farmers over the centuries has managed to differentiate a large number of varieties of fig tree (more than fifty on the Balearic Islands alone) by their leaves and especially by their fruit. They are divided into different groups by their characteristics.

Thus, depending on when they are harvested, some are early (called "brevas"), some from August and from winter. In relation to their purpose, for human consumption, to dry and preserve for the winter and for the animals.

To get large trees, with branches that spread wider than they are tall so as to make it easier to harvest the figs, they are propped ("estalonant") on beanpoles to keep them off the ground. This gives a greater yield per tree, and also creates shade underneath, generally for the sake of the cattle. They have therefore become a fundamental element of the Formentera landscape.

Of all the fig trees on Formentera, one even has its own name, Na Blanqueta de Can Mestre, and has been catalogued as a unique tree. It is found by going along the road from La Savina to La Mola, taking the Es Còdol Foradat turnoff and turning left after 300 m. The property is private but the fig tree is easy to see from the road.