Olive

Where it grows

The olive is native to the eastern Mediterranean and was domesticated in the Levant and the Aegean. It now grows around every shore of the Mediterranean and in matching climates in California, South Africa, Chile, and South Australia. Spain and Italy lead world production.

How to recognise it

A gnarled, often hollow grey-barked trunk supports a domed crown of narrow, lance-shaped leaves, dark green above and silvery-felted below. Tiny white four-petalled flowers cluster on small panicles in late spring, followed by small oval drupes that ripen from green through purple to black.

Uses

Olives are too bitter to eat off the tree; they are cured in brine, lye, or salt for the table. Mechanical pressing of green or ripening olives yields extra-virgin olive oil — a staple of Mediterranean cuisine and an antioxidant-rich cooking fat. The fine-grained, swirled olive wood is carved into bowls and chopping boards.

In culture

The olive branch as a symbol of peace dates to the Bible’s flood narrative. Ancient olive trees on Crete and in Bethlehem are claimed to be over 2,000 years old, and a single olive can resprout from its base after fire or felling.