Olea Europae, Common Olive (25)

The Common Olive might not be the first tree you think of when someone say California, but it is of great economic importance. The Common Olive is a highly valued crop around the world, and much of the worldwide supply of olives and olive oil originates in California (Kiritsakis, 1998).

The Common Olive was domesticated on the Mediterranean shores of the Middle East and Levant and quickly spread around southern Europe, where it serves a central cultural and dietary function (Standish, 1960).

As with so many other plants, the California climate and irrigation system made it possible to intensively cultivate huge amounts of the Common Olive. Today, if you drive through the Central Valley of California, you will likely see fields of olive trees along with other fruit and nut trees. The olive and olive oil trade is very lucrative. Recent increases in health awareness have led to an increase in consumption of both olives and olive oil in California and around the world.

The Common Olive reproduces best from cuttings and by shoots, but can be grown from its fruit (so long as it hasn’t been pickled and salted). Its growth habit is erect and single stemmed. The leaves are thick, leathery, and linear and usually light to dark green. The underside of the leaves are slightly fuzzy. The seed of the olive is produced in a fruit that ranges in size from about half and inch to approximately 2 inches long. The fruits begin green and turn black as they mature (Kiritsakis, 1998).