For those that don't know of this fig, you should remember it. It's probably the most well-regarded fig variety among hobbyist collectors. Black Madeira goes by many names and the origin is unclear, but what I do know is that it is found all over Europe. A very well-respected grower in Portugal by the name of Lampo believed that the real name for this fig is Violetta.
What makes Black Madeira so special is it's one of the best-tasting fig varieties. It's sort of a rite of passage all fig hobbyists must go through even if it's not a great choice for your particular climate. The flavor has acidity and complex berry tones combined with high sweetness from fig nectar pooling in the void & dripping from the eye. The berry flavor is intense and is among the most intense you can find in a fig. This is really what makes the flavor so special. It's all in the rich sweetness and berry flavor. I remember eating one of these that was caprified and grown in perfect California weather. I could not believe what I was eating. I would make a special trip to California just to taste this fig grown in perfect conditions again.
It's only fair that something tasting so good is lacking in other areas. Unfortunately, it's quite a late variety. Often taking longer than your standard 90 days to ripen after fruit set. This number is largely influenced by heat units. Therefore, in mild places like the PNW or the UK, growers have a very hard time ripening this fig without a greenhouse. Even here in the Northeast. Especially if your tree is not mature and healthy.
That leads me to my next point. Black Madeira has historically been one of the least healthy varieties and most severely infected with fig mosaic virus. The USDA's collection at Wolfskill became heavily infected with FMV as time went on. Due to Black Madeira's high demand, it was a mission of some collectors to find a source of Black Madeira that was mostly FMV-free. One became popular from a hobbyist named KK. That's where the KK tag comes from when you see BM (KK). The BM (KK) version of Black Madeira is no different than the USDA version.
Some collectors often debate this point, but whether or not this is true does not matter. The KK version was significantly healthier than the USDA version. Nowadays that may not be true. A lot of the unhealthy trees at UC Davis were replaced with healthier versions.
Another negative trait of Black Madeira is its poor split resistance. It's one of the absolute worst figs during times of rain. Hobbyists have been scratching their heads for years trying to stop this fig from splitting. My advice: you can somewhat alleviate it, but it'll always have trouble. The shape of the fruit and the way it hangs as it swells is not ideal for producing high-quality fruit reliably in a humid climate.
It's so bad that you may only actually enjoy 10% of the actual production. So if the tree produced 50 figs in a season, I only realistically enjoy 5 of them here. As I said though.. it's a rite of passage and those figs will be amazing if you can get one perfectly ripe.
Even worse than the shape and the stem length is the eye of the figs are often pointed towards the sky when swelling. If rain hits the eye of the fig, I can almost guarantee that it will split. That is where it is most sensitive and where fast absorption of water occurs most easily.
One cool feature of this fig is that it often drips nectar from the eye. This can stop ants from entering but could attract other insects. The skin is tough and quite thick. Some collectors don't like that. I don't prefer it, but you can very easily peel this fig and that thick outer shell allows it to be handled without too much damage. For this reason, it would actually make a decent commercial fig. Wouldn't that be nice? To see Black Madeira figs sold in stores.
Without a doubt, this is a fantastic variety. Well worth studying, but without a dry and long-season climate, you're going to have some heartbreaking moments. Enjoy!
