"Marseilles fig, which I brought from France with me, & is unquestionably superior to any fig I have ever seen" -Thomas Jefferson (1809) All of the 'White Marseilles' figs in the US very well may have come from the original plant Thomas Jefferson brought back with him from France sometime around or before 1769. The Marseilles fig is a half-hardy, deciduous shrub that produces small, greenish-yellow-white figs. The ornate leaf and upright habit make for a very nice looking plant. The greenish-yellow skin on the fruit helps to keep the birds form beating the grower to the fruit.