Ficus carica is an Asian species of flowering plants in the mulberry family, known as the fig or common fig. It is the source of the fruit also called the fig, and as such is an important crop in those areas where it is grown commercially. Native to the Middle East and western Asia, it has been sought out and cultivated since ancient times, and is now widely grown throughout the world, both for its fruit and as an ornamental plant.The edible fig is one of the first plants cultivated by humans.  Ficus carica is dispersed by birds and mammals that scatter their seeds in droppings.