You are only comparing the fruit? This is my thoughts on it https://www.foodplace.info/Bountiful_Figs/viewtopic.php?id=41
There is no genetic, morphologic, or even geographic data that justifies a Mt. Etna category.
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Yeah I don’t see Celeste at all. It’s a unique flavor Celeste. Malts Black tastes more like the better Mt Etna types to me. I can say it is a keeper. To me Mt Etna figs just mean a flavor. As many look nothing alike. Red Lebanese is a good example, considered a Mt Etna but the flavor is more intense. Also it is very red before ripe. As are some other Etna types. It is a huge group of figs.
What do I know though. It never occurred to me it could be related to Celeste. Yes not basing it on leaves.
In my opinion what is going around as Malta Black is not the same fig in that description. Mine comes from Don Sanders.
I agree, it just tastes like an Etna type. Much like Red Lebanese found in Bekaa Valley does.
The first discussions about Celeste being related I saw was 11 years ago. I agree with Dan La on F4F who posted this in 2011
“Malta Black is “rumoured” to be related to regular Celeste. Now, how could anyone living in the land of the fig wasp possibly know that for sure is beyond me…given all the confusion over the Celeste cultivar. IMO, that is just pure speculation (i.e. talking points) and not at all based on any FACT. It is baloney IMO.”
I agree! Everybody has an opinion. I expressed mine, it will not be changed. I don’t think it is celeste and Mt Etna’s only have to do with taste, most don’t even ripen at the same time, obviously different figs. Hardy Chicago is not from Mt Etna either. Isn’t it from Rome?
Again, there is no Mt. Etna type. The figs said to be in that category have little in common - other than sellers wanting to entice desperate buyers. It’s like the indoor banana category at Ty Nursery.
There are at least two different flavor types in the mount Etna group, it’s not impossible that more than one different fig be called ‘Malta Black’. Someone might have introduced a fig from Malta, and named it ‘Malta Black’, if it’s a black fig from Malta. I certainly have not paid attention to every fig variety that might have originated from Malta.
Well yes, it is a flavor category so does exist as that. I thought that was well known?
To me no fig ever tasted like a real strawberry or raspberry, not even close. I know what the berry flavor tastes like and again to me it’s sort of has a light berry like flavor, certainly no perfect terms for that flavor exist as no berry tastes like figs. And no figs tastes like berries.
As far as a selling point, well Eina’s are about the cheapest figs around.
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Yes why we do need some genetic testing. I myself believe that we have maybe 5 different figs. They were spread all over the world. 400 years later we are seeing subtle differences in taste, size and ripening times.
Good discussion Alan, thanks for your thoughts on this. It has expanded my knowledge of figs.
The Etna type, are fig cultivars resembling a common fig type find in the mount etna area of Sicily which could be related to each other, a certain leaf type, a strong cold hardiness, a certain fig shape type. Some people have tried to make the mount Etna type in to a flavor group, which mount Etna cultivars can fall in to at least two different flavor groups.
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I always saw it as a flavor group because so many don’t look alike. Malta Black does not look like any of them. Same with red Lebanese. Both must haves for me and also black Bethlehem.
Maybe Azores Dark the Portuguese contribution to the Etna flavor group. Trying Tacoma Violet too. And a few other Etna types.
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They were not found there, but rather cultivated for centuries near L’Aquila Italy.
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People have tried to turn the mount etna type in to a flavor group, and I think that made things way more confusing for everyone, suddenly there are cultivars, I am guessing over 60 of them being considered the same thing, I have seen some people calling all cultivars that they consider to be mount etna like ‘Hardy Chicago’ adding to the confusion. Sometimes refereed to as the ‘Hardy Chicago type’.
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@mamuang – I’ve never had fruit drop from Improved Celeste, either in the ground or in pots. But it does like a lot of water. I don’t think it’s possible to give it too much.
I did have regular fruit drop from potted O’Rourke. It was extremely sensitive to any episode of dryness.
Is it possible that your Improved Celeste is a mislabeled O’Rourke?
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I got mine from @JesseinMaine . I like the taste. Only if it has not dropped so much, it would be a keeper.
@jrd51 - I would not know. Hope Jesse will chime in.
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@mamuang – LOL. I’ve given Jesse some cuttings, so it might have come from me.
Assuming that your tree is genuine Improved Celeste, my advise would be to make sure that it is not root-bound, make surest has an adequate sized pot, and then give it water every day.
In my experience, IC never splits so that is not a concern.
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Rootbound is an issue. Will try to fix that. Thanks.
I am not very serious about figs. I’ve been around reading many, many posts about figs. There are too many people taking figs too seriously.
I never understand why.
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I had a potted Improved Celeste for three years, it grew very well for the first half of every season, then it dropped all its fruits! Have not eaten a single fig from it… I gave it away a month ago.
I remember @jrd51 telling me it needs a lot of water, but never got a chance to test that. I am done with potted trees, tired of watering and moving around.
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DK, I think it becomes a prestige possession. But yeah.
Ironically, that’s actually what got me into figs in the first place. I just kind of randomly stumbled into the fig world and forums after hearing about the fruit one day and was amazed at how serious people took it, having never tried a fig fruit myself at the time. I kinda thought that such um… “passionate” discourse would surely mean the fruit had merit. I saw that some community members amassed potted collections of hundreds of trees which I thought was very neat - in part since on my couple of acres in my cold climate I wouldn’t be able to have hundreds of varieties of apple trees, etc. I researched the heck out of varieties that might work the best in my area, reached out to a few local people who were growing them, and then went to home depot and found a “celeste” on sale in the store with a couple of fig fruits on it. That tree still hates me and drops figs almost every year like no other, except my O’rourke. One thing I know for sure though, a perfectly ripe fig is a treat and I wish more people would give them a try 
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@bopcrane – Plain old “Celeste” is a bad choice for northern growers. Improved Celeste is WAY better here.
You’re experience with O’Rourke parallels mine. O’Rourke is sometimes confused with Improved Celeste, but IMO Improved Celeste is way better. Fruits are not so different but IC is way easier to grow.
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