The olive is one of the oldest of fruits and has been grown since prehistoric times. The olive Oleo europaea L. is a medium sized evergreen shrub that grows fruits as well under a Mediterranean climate such as occurs around the Mediterranean Sea, southern Australia, parts of New Zeeland the Americas and South Africa.
The silvery green leaves are oblong in shape, measuring 4-6 cm long and 1-2 cm wide. Its fruit, the olive is of major agricultural importance in the Mediterranean as the source of olive oil.
Olives will grow under tropical conditions but rarely will experience sufficient chilling hours for flower and fruit production.
The fruit is a small drupe 1-2.5 cm long. Wild plants have thinner flesh and are smaller than orchid cultivars. Olives are tree harvested at the green stage or left to ripen to a rich purple color.
Production starts 5-6 years after planting and if well managed the long living tress can keep fruiting for hundreds of years.
The cultivated olives can be roughly subdivided into two main types:
*Oil varieties the ripe fruits of which contain at least 20% and usually 25-30 % oil
*Table olives: less oily forms used for the preservation of whole fruits.
Olea europaea
