Olea europaea L.
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
Origin probably in Asia Minor. Cultivated since ancient times throughout the Mediterranean region, now spread over the subtropical regions of the entire globe. Frequently grafted on Olea ferruginea. Many varieties of the Olive tree have been developed and are grown, for fruit only. The olives yield a highly priced edible oil which can be stored for a couple of months without becoming rancid. Olives as a whole or without stone can be used for pickles. The bitter astringent taste is removed by treatment with sodium hydroxide and salt solutions.
Earlier introductions grew well in Pakistan but gave hardly any fruit, as most of the varieties are self-sterile and no proper pollinator was present. Recently different varieties have been planted together with some proper pollinators, and the results are quite satisfactory. There is hope now that the cultivation of the olive tree will spread all over the northern regions of Pakistan in the near future.
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
| Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=200017804 |
United States
Origin: Exotic
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Unknown/Undetermined
Confidence: Confident
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
| Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Olea+europaea |
United States
Rounded National Status Rank: NNA - Not Applicable
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
| Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Olea+europaea |
Arabian Peninsula to Iran; China; eastern Africa; Eastern Arc Mountains; India; Mascarenes; northern Tanzania; southern Africa
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | Africa Tree Database |
| Source | No source database. |
Rounded Global Status Rank: GNR - Not Yet Ranked
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
| Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Olea+europaea |
Mountainous Southern Sinai (St.Katherine), Isthmic Desert, North Sinai.
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | Bibliotheca Alexandrina, BA Cultnat, Bibliotheca Alexandrina - EOL Ar |
| Source | http://lifedesk.bibalex.org/ba/pages/3707 |
firewood; building; tools; food
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | Africa Tree Database |
| Source | No source database. |
Chile Central
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | Pablo Gutierrez, IABIN |
| Source | No source database. |
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2011) |
The olive (
i/ˈɒlɪv/ or i/ˈɑːləv/, Olea europaea, meaning "olive from/of Europe") is a species of small tree in the family Oleaceae, found in much of Africa, the Mediterranean Basin from Portugal to the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula, and southern Asia as far east as China, as well as the Canary Islands, Mauritius and Réunion. The species is cultivated in many places and considered naturalized in France, Corsica, Greece, Albania, Crimea, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Spain, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Java, Norfolk Island, California and Bermuda.[1][2]
The olive's fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the Mediterranean region as the source of olive oil. The tree and its fruit give its name to the plant family, which also includes species such as lilacs, jasmine, Forsythia and the true ash trees (Fraxinus). The word derives from Latin ŏlīva ("olive fruit", "olive tree"; "olive oil" is ŏlĕum)[3] which is cognate with the Greek ἐλαία (elaía, "olive fruit", "olive tree") and ἔλαιον (élaion, "olive oil").[4][5] The oldest attested forms of the latter two words in Greek are respectively the Mycenaean
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | Wikipedia |
| Source | http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Olive&oldid=654414130 |
Trees up to 7 m high, greyish-green; bark grey, on branchlets whitish. Leaves lanceolate, sometimes ovate, c. 4 cm long, 1 cm broad, coriaceous; upper surface dark green, with few scales, ventral silvery-whitish due to scaly hairs; petiole 5 mm. Flowers whitish, in terminal or lateral cymes. Calyx truncate or with 4 little teeth. Corolla tube short; lobes 4, 1-2 mm long. Drupe blackish-violet when ripe, ovoid, 1-2 cm in diam.; pulp oily.
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
| Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=200017804 |