Olea europaea L. – Family Oleaceae

General Characteristics

An evergreen tree reaching up to 15 meters in height, spiny in its wild forms. 

The trunk is twisted and irregular with fissures in adult individuals; the bark is grayish. 

The leaves are persistent, leathery, simple, opposite, elliptic-lanceolate, 7 cm long, with a silver-white underside due to the presence of scale-like hairs. 

The flowers are grouped in clusters; they are hermaphroditic, with a 4-lobed calyx and a white corolla with a short tube and 4 lobes. 

The fruits are oily black drupes when mature, ripening between October and December.

USES

The fruits are edible and used for oil extraction. 

The wood is used in cabinetry.

CURIOSITIES

A very long-lived species. It arrived in Italy in the 1st millennium BC. 

The branch with leaves is a symbol of peace.

ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION

A wild species in the Mediterranean, with its range expanded by human activity. 

The first wild plants domesticated by humans in 4000 BC come from the island of Crete.