Kypria ski - sycamore fig tree

This tree is mentioned in the texts of three ancient writers. Information is given about both the tree and the fruit. The earliest reference comes from Theophrastus (4th-3rd century BC) and his work'Περί φυτών ιστορίας'. He specifically mentions that this tree, which resembles a 'fig tree' and is called 'Cyprus fig', can be found in Crete. Its fruit ripen four times a year. However, in order for the fruit to ripen, it must first be cut and its juice to flow. The taste of the fruit is sweet and reminiscent of the fig, the inside resembles wild figs and has the size of a plum. (Theophrastus, 4.3). The other two references date back to the 1st century AD and come from Pedanius Dioscorides, an important physician of antiquity, and Pliny.Pedaenius Dioscourides, in his work 'Περί ύλης ιατρικής’ (De materia medica), calls the tree 'sycómoron' and describes that in Cyprus there is a different species, with leaves resembling the elm, its fruit has the size of a plum and is sweeter (Pedanius Dioscourides, 1.127). Pliny in his 'Φυσική Ιστορία' makes special reference to the 'Cyprus fig'. The information he gives is similar to that from Theophrastus (Pliny, 13.58). In the area of Ayia Napa, today, three sycamore fig trees, which are are 600, 350 and 250 years old, have been declared as protected old trees by the Forestry Department.