Everywhere common in Palestine, both wild and cultivated. Figs were an important food. The tree is one of the earliest to show its fruitbuds, which appear before the leaves; thus a fig tree with leaves would be expected to also have fruit. Jesus' cursing the fig tree for its fruitlessness (Mark 11: 12-13, 20-23) was an allusion to the fruitlessness of Israel. Also, as the tree is a "late leafer," the time when the leaves appear indicates that summer is "nigh at hand" (cf. Matt. 24: 32-33; D&C 45: 37-38; JS-M 1: 38-39). For other references to figs, see Gen. 3: 7; 1 Kgs. 4: 25; 2 Kgs. 20: 7; John 1: 47-50. the sycomore, spoken of in Isa. 9: 10, Amos 7: 14, and Luke 19: 4 was a variety of fig tree.