Olive tree

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Olive

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Oleaceae
Genus:	Olea
Species:	O. europaea

Binomial name

Olea europaea
L.

Olive trees near Karystos in Greece

A grove of olive trees

The fruit of the olive tree are called olive

Marinated olives on a market in Toulon, France

The olive tree is a small tree. Its Latin name is Olea europaea. Originally it came from the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean, from Syria and the maritime parts of Asia Minor and northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea. It has been cultivated for a very long time. The old Greeks were cultivating it. They spread the trees to the western part of the Mediterranean.

Olive trees like soils with lots of chalk in them. They grow best on limestone slopes and crags in coastal climate.

1 Description of the tree
2 Uses of olives
3 The numbers behind
4 Cultural significance
5 Other websites

[change] Description of the tree

The Wild Olive is a small, straggly tree or shrub to 8-15 m tall with thorny branches. The leaves are opposite, oblong pointed, 4-10 cm long and 1-3 cm broad. The leaves have a dark greyish-green color above and are pale with whitish scales below. The small white flowers, with four-cleft calyx and corolla, two stamens and bifid stigma, are borne generally on the last year's wood, in racemes springing from the axils of the leaves. The fruit is a small drupe 1-2 cm long, thinner-fleshed and smaller in wild plants than in orchard cultivars.

[change] Uses of olives

Today, olive trees are grown for the following reasons:

The fruit of the tree is used:
- For cooking. Directly from the tree the olive does not taste very well (it tastes very bitter). It is put into some solution that makes it less bitter. Once this is done, it is usable for various recipes of Mediterranean cooking.
- To make olive oil. This is probably the one of the best vegetable oils in existence.
The wood of the tree is very hard. It is used to make furniture or articles of everyday use.
The leaves of the tree have some medical uses. It is said that the leaves have a calming effect. They are good for people going to sleep. They are also good for the immune system and to bring down high levels of cholesterol. The oil is good for the cardiovascular system (the heart, and the arteries, etc.) and the circulation of fat in the body.

[change] The numbers behind

In total, 17.3 million tons of olives are produced every year. 60% of all olive trees are in the European Union. The top producers are:

[change] Cultural significance

Flag of the United Nations

Very probably, the first olive trees were grown in Syria. From there they spread rapidly. In Ancient Greece, the tree was seen as holy, some city states (polis) like Athens put a penalty for cutting down olive trees.

The branches in the flag of the United Nations are those of an olive tree. The olive tree is a sign of peace.