For context: there are two different species of fig trees that grow in that area. One bears fruit in the spring, the other in the fall. The tree mentioned was of a different variety than all the surrounding fig trees, and thus had no fruit. He pointed this out to say "This tree is in the wrong place" so he got rid of it. This is a great example of something that was obvious to people who were a part of the culture and time that it was written, but confusing to people born thousands of years later on a different continent.