Olive

The word olive derives from Latin '''' 'olive fruit; olive tree', possibly through Etruscan () from the archaic Proto-Greek form *ἐλαίϝα (*elaíwa) (Classic Greek '''' 'olive fruit; olive tree'). The word oil originally meant 'olive oil', from ', (' 'olive oil'). The word for 'oil' in multiple other languages ultimately derives from the name of this tree and its fruit. The oldest attested forms of the Greek words are Mycenaean , ', and , ' or , '''', written in the Linear B syllabic script. ==Description==

The olive tree, Olea europaea, is an evergreen tree or shrub native to Mediterranean Europe, Asia, and Africa. It is short and squat and rarely exceeds in height. Pisciottana—a unique variety comprising 40,000 trees found only in the area around Pisciotta in the Campania region of southern Italy—often exceeds this, with correspondingly large trunk diameters. The silvery green leaves are oblong, measuring long and wide. The trunk is typically gnarled and twisted. Small, white flowers are borne generally on the previous year's wood, in racemes springing from leaf axils. Each flower is made of four yellowish white petals fused at the bottom joined to a base of four fused green sepals. The flower buds grow slowly from 4 to 6 weeks before they reach a length of about 2 cm and bloom, they bloom quicker between 5–6 days in hot weather and 2 weeks in colder areas. The flowers pollinate and fertilize faster in hotter climates. The fruit is a small drupe, long when ripe, thinner-fleshed and smaller in wild plants than in orchard cultivars. Olives are harvested in the green to purple stage. O. europaea contains a pyrena commonly referred to in American English as a "pit", and in British English as a "stone". . These trees grow wild in the mountains of the Spanish island of Mallorca and are valued for their tiny leaves and rough bark. This tree won first prize in the broadleaf evergreen category in the 2024 edition of the Unión del Bonsái Español (UBE) exhibition in Aranjuez, Spain. ==Taxonomy==

The six natural subspecies of Olea europaea are distributed over a wide range: • O. e. subsp. europaea (Mediterranean Basin) The subspecies europaea is divided into two varieties, the europaea, which was formerly named Olea sativa, with the seedlings called "olivasters", and silvestris, which corresponds to the old wildly growing Mediterranean species O. oleaster, with the seedlings called "oleasters". The sylvestris is characterized by a smaller, shrubby tree that produces smaller fruits and leaves. • O. e. subsp. cuspidata (from South Africa throughout East Africa ,Arabia, Northwest India to Southwest China) • O. e. subsp. cerasiformis (Madeira); also known as Olea maderensis • O. e. subsp. guanchica (Canary Islands) • O. e. subsp. laperrinei (Algeria, Sudan, Niger) • O. e. subsp. maroccana (Morocco) The subspecies O. e. cerasiformis is tetraploid, and O. e. maroccana is hexaploid. Wild-growing forms of the olive are sometimes treated as the species Olea oleaster, or "oleaster". The trees referred to as "white" and "black" olives in Southeast Asia are not actually olives but species of Canarium. Cultivars Hundreds of cultivars of the olive tree are known. An olive's cultivar has a significant impact on its colour, size, shape, and growth characteristics, as well as the qualities of olive oil. Since many olive cultivars are self-sterile or nearly so, they are generally planted in pairs with a single primary cultivar and a secondary cultivar selected for its ability to fertilize the primary one. In recent times, efforts have been directed at producing hybrid cultivars with qualities useful to farmers, such as resistance to disease. ==History==

As one of the oldest cultivated trees on Earth, the history of the olive is deeply intertwined with humans; its ecological success and expansion is largely the result of human activity rather than environmental conditions, with the tree's genetic and geographic trajectory directly reflecting the rise and fall of several civilizations. There were an estimated 865 million olive trees in the world in 2005, of which the vast majority were found in Mediterranean countries; traditionally marginal areas accounted for no more than 25% of olive-planted area and 10% of oil production. Mediterranean Basin Fossil evidence indicates that the olive tree had its origins 20–40 million years ago in the Oligocene, in what now corresponds to Italy and the eastern Mediterranean Basin. Around 100,000 years ago, olives were used by humans in Africa, on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, for fuel and most probably for consumption. Wild olive trees, or oleasters, have been collected in the Eastern Mediterranean since approximately 19,000 BP; the genome of cultivated olives reflects their origin from oleaster populations in the region. The olive plant was first cultivated in the Mediterranean between 8,000 and 6,000 years ago. Domestication likely began in the Levant, based on archeological findings in ancient tombs—including written tablets, olive pits, and olive wood fragments—as well as genetic analyses. For thousands of years, olives were grown primarily for lamp oil rather than for culinary purposes, as the natural fruit has an extremely bitter taste. It is very likely that the first mechanized agricultural methods and tools were those designed to produce olive oil; the earliest olive oil production dates back some 6,500 years ago in coastal Canaan (present-day Israel). As early as 3000BC, olives were grown commercially in Crete and may have been the main source of wealth for the Minoan civilization. The exact ancestry of the cultivated olive is unknown. Fossil olea pollen has been found in Macedonia and other places around the Mediterranean, indicating that this genus is an original element of the Mediterranean flora. Fossilized leaves of olea were found in the paleosols of the volcanic Greek island of Santorini and dated to about 37,000 BP. Imprints of larvae of olive whitefly Aleurobus olivinus were found on the leaves. The same insect is commonly found today on olive leaves, showing that the plant-animal co-evolutionary relations have not changed since that time. Other leaves found on the same island date back to 60,000 BP, making them the oldest known olives from the Mediterranean. Expansion and propagation In the 16th century BC, the Phoenicians—a seafaring people native to the Levantine heartland where olives likely were first cultivated—started disseminating the olive throughout the Mediterranean. Owing to their dominance as traders, merchants, and mariners, they succeeded in spreading the olive to the Greek isles, particularly Crete, later introducing it to the Greek mainland between the 14th and 12th centuries BC. Olive cultivation increased and gained great importance among the Greeks; Athenian statesman Solon () issued decrees regulating olive planting and encouraging its cultivation, particularly for export. Greek literature and mythology reflected the privileged and even sacred position of the olive, while leading thinkers and figures like Hippocrates, Homer, and Theophrastus observed its various positive properties and benefits. The earliest evidence of the olive tree in Egypt traces back to the Eighteenth Dynasty (1570–1345 BC), during the same period the Phoenicians began distributing it across the Mediterranean. However, scenes on the walls of the tomb of King Teti (ruled c. 2345 BC to c. 2333 BC) show olive fruits and trees, though it is unclear if these represent domestic cultivation. Pharoah Ramses III (reigned 1186–1155 BC) promoted cultivating olive trees and offered the olive oil extracted from Heliopolis to the Sun God Ra; papyrus manuscripts dated to his reign (c. 1550 BC), as well as temple engravings, depict the growing of olive trees and the use of olive oil in cooking, lamps, cosmetics, medicine and embalming. Pharoah Tutankhamun, who ruled from c. 1333 to 1323 BC, wore a garland of olive branches originated from Dakhla Oasis, 360 km to the east. Egyptian mummies dating back to the 20-25th dynasties (c. 1185 BC to c. 656 BC) have been found wearing olive wreaths. While there is no evidence of olive cultivation in Mesopotamia, olive wood appears as early as the mid third millennium BC; the site of Emar in present-day Syria has olive wood and olive pits dating to the Middle Bronze Age (2000–1600 BC). The Code of Hammurabi, a compilation of laws and edicts made by King Hammurabi of the Old Babylonian Empire (reigning from c. 1792 to c. 1750 BC), makes repeated references to olive oil as a key commodity. The Assyrian Empire (858–627 BC) may have expanded into the southern Levant partly to secure control over its lucrative olive oil production. There is now good evidence for the presence of the olive tree and its exploitation in Italy as early as the Neolithic, and by the Bronze Age it was cultivated and olive oil possibly produced. But from 1000 BC and then through the Roman Republic and Empire, it was grown in increasingly marginal locations, and could be found across much of peninsula Italy, Sicily and Sardinia. Cultivation moved as far upwards as Liguria near the border with France and into transalpine regions. When the Romans arrived in North Africa beginning in the second half of the first century BC, the native Berbers knew how to graft wild olives and had highly developed its cultivation throughout the region. with frieze adorned with olive branches (c. first century AD) The olive's expansion and cultivation reached its greatest extent through Rome's gradual conquest and settlement across virtually the entire Mediterranean; the Romans continued propagating the olive for commercial and agricultural purposes, as well as to assimilate local populations. It was introduced in present-day Marseille around 600 BC and spread from there to the whole of Gaul (modern France). The olive tree made its appearance in Sardinia following Roman conquest in the third century BC, though it may not have reached nearby Corsica until after the fall of the western Roman Empire in the fifth century AD. Although olive growing was introduced to Spain by the Phoenicians some time in 1050 BC, it did not reach a larger scale until the arrival of Scipio (212 BC) during the Second Punic War against Carthage. After the Third Punic War (149–146 BC), olives occupied a large stretch of the Baetica valley in southwest Spain and spread towards the central and Mediterranean coastal areas of the Iberian Peninsula, including Portugal. Through the second century AD, this region would become the largest source of olives and olive oil within the empire. Olive became a core part of the Roman diet, and by extension a major economic pillar; the cultivation, harvesting, and trade in olives and their derived goods sustained many livelihoods and regions. The emperor Hadrian (117–138 AD) passed laws prompting olive cultivation by exempting individuals who grew olive trees from rent payments on their land for ten years. Beginning in the early eighth century AD, Muslim Arabs and North Africans brought their own varieties of olives during their conquest of Iberia, reinvigorating and expanding olive growing throughout the peninsula. The spread and importance of olives during subsequent Islamic rule is reflected in the Arabic roots of the Spanish words for olive (aceituna), oil (aceite), and wild olive tree (acebuche) and the Portuguese words for olive (azeitona) and olive oil (azeite). Outside the Mediterranean The olive is not native outside the Mediterranean Basin, although various wild subspecies are endemic throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, southern Arabia, and central and south Asia. Beyond its immediate native range, the cultivated olive historically spread across West Asia through southwest China, and into parts of southern Egypt, northeast Sudan, the Canary Islands, and possibly the mountains of the Sahara. Spanish missionaries established the olive tree in California between 1769 and 1795 at Mission San Diego de Alcalá. Orchards were started at other missions, but by 1838, only two olive orchards were confirmed in California. Cultivation for oil gradually became a highly successful commercial venture from the 1860s onward. Olive growing in the United States is primarily concentrated in warmer regions like California, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Georgia, and Florida. California is by far the largest olive producer in the U.S., accounting for 95 percent of domestic olives; as of 2021, there are roughly 36,000 acres under olive cultivation in the U.S., However, the industry is expanding into the southeastern U.S., with Florida and Georgia experiencing growth in olive farming. accounting for over 95% of the country's total production, and earning the nickname "Olive Island". Olives play a central role in the local culture and economy, with the island's mascot and tourism merchandise reflecting olive themes. Pakistan has been pursuing large scale commercial olive production, which it identified as a strategic national priority to reduce dependence on foreign oils and expand economic opportunity. As part of the national Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Project launched in 2019, which aimed to plant 10 billion trees to mitigate climate change and environmental degradation, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government planted thousands of olives to symbolize peace and provide commercial opportunities in the war-torn region. By 2020, with the help of experts from Spain and Italy, Pakistan imported thousands of trees and identified 10 million acres for growing olives. As of January 2025, the country had 5.6 million cultivated olive trees, with 500,000 to 800,000 new trees planted annually, as well as 80 million wild olive trees. Punjab province plans to plant 50 million olive trees on about 9.8 million acres by 2026. Production was spearheaded by Rajasthan Olive Cultivation Limited, a state government-funded agency that offered subsidies and incentives for growing olives, with support from Israeli experts. Olive farms continued expanding into 2020 but saw a precipitous decline in size and production volume by 2023, due to the difficult climate and declining government interest and support. Global expansion A 2025 report by Spain's Agrobank and the Olive Oil World Congress (OOWC) found that olive oil production increased markedly outside the European Union, with non-EU producers accounting for 40 percent of global output in 2024/2025, compared to below 33 percent in 2021/2022. Fifty-eight countries across five continents produce olive oil, with the most recent growers being El Salvador, Ethiopia, Kuwait, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and North Macedonia. Amid ongoing climate warming, several small-scale olive production farms have been established at fairly high latitudes in Europe and North America since the early 21st century, including in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Canada. ==Cultivation==

The earliest evidence for the domestication of olives comes from the Chalcolithic period archaeological site of Teleilat el Ghassul in modern Jordan. Farmers in ancient times believed that olive trees would not grow well if planted more than a certain distance from the sea; Theophrastus gives 300 stadia () as the limit. Modern experience does not always confirm this, and, though showing a preference for the coast, they have long been grown further inland in some areas with suitable climates, particularly in the southwestern Mediterranean (Iberia and northwest Africa) where winters are mild. An article on olive tree cultivation in Spain is brought down in Ibn al-'Awwam's 12th-century agricultural work, Book on Agriculture. , Spain|alt=Plantation in Andalucía, Spain Olives are cultivated in many regions of the world with Mediterranean climates, such as South Africa, Chile, Peru, Pakistan, Australia, and the western United States (particularly California), as well as in areas with temperate climates such as New Zealand, Uruguay and the Córdoba Province, Argentina. , France|alt=Olives at a market in Toulon, France Growth and propagation , Apulia, Italy|alt=Pruned trees in neat rows at Ostuni, Apulia, Italy Olive trees show a marked preference for calcareous soils, flourishing best on limestone slopes and crags, and coastal climate conditions. They grow in any light soil, even on clay if well drained, but in rich soils, they are predisposed to disease and produce poor quality oil. (This was noted by Pliny the Elder.) Olives like hot weather and sunny positions without any shade, while temperatures below may injure even a mature tree. They tolerate drought well because of their sturdy and extensive root systems. Olive trees can remain productive for centuries as long as they are pruned correctly and regularly. Only a handful of olive varieties can be used to cross-pollinate. 'Pendolino' olive trees are partially self-fertile, but pollenizers are needed for a large fruit crop. Other compatible olive tree pollinators include 'Leccino' and 'Maurino'. 'Pendolino' olive trees are used extensively as pollinizers in large olive tree groves. Olives are propagated by various methods. The preferred ways are cuttings and layers; the tree roots easily in favourable soil and throws up suckers from the stump when cut down. However, yields from trees grown from suckers or seeds are poor; they must be budded or grafted onto other specimens to do well. Branches of various thickness cut into lengths around planted deeply in manured ground soon vegetate. Shorter pieces are sometimes laid horizontally in shallow trenches and, when covered with a few centimetres of soil, rapidly throw up sucker-like shoots. In Greece, grafting the cultivated tree on the wild tree is a common practice. In Italy, embryonic buds, which form small swellings on the stems, are carefully excised and planted under the soil surface, where they soon form a vigorous shoot. The olive is sometimes grown from seed. To facilitate germination, the oily pericarp is first softened by slight rotting, or soaked in hot water or in an alkaline solution. In situations where extreme cold has damaged or killed the olive tree, the rootstock can survive and produce new shoots which in turn become new trees. In this way, olive trees can regenerate themselves. In Tuscany in 1985, a very severe frost destroyed many productive and aged olive trees and ruined many farmers' livelihoods. However, new shoots appeared in the spring and, once the dead wood was removed, became the basis for new fruit-producing trees. Olives grow very slowly, and over many years, the trunk can attain a considerable diameter. A. P. de Candolle recorded one exceeding in girth. The trees rarely exceed in height and are generally confined to much more limited dimensions by frequent pruning. Olives are very hardy and are resistant to disease and fire. Its root system is robust and capable of regenerating the tree even if the above-ground structure is destroyed. The crop from old trees is sometimes enormous, but they seldom bear well two years in succession, and in many cases, a large harvest occurs every sixth or seventh season. Where the olive is carefully cultivated, as in Liguria, Languedoc, and Provence, the trees are regularly pruned. The pruning preserves the flower-bearing shoots of the preceding year, while keeping the tree low enough to allow the easy gathering of the fruit. Pests, diseases, and weather Various pathologies can affect olives. The most serious pest is the olive fruit fly (Dacus oleae or Bactrocera oleae) which lays its eggs in the olive most commonly just before it becomes ripe in the autumn. The region surrounding the puncture rots, becomes brown, and takes a bitter taste, making the olive unfit for eating or for oil. For controlling the pest, the practice has been to spray with insecticides (organophosphates, e.g. dimethoate). Classic organic methods have been applied such as trapping, applying the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, and spraying with kaolin. Such methods are obligatory for organic olives. A fungus, Cycloconium oleaginum, can infect the trees for several successive seasons, causing great damage to plantations. A species of bacterium, Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. oleae, induces tumour growth in the shoots. Certain lepidopterous caterpillars feed on the leaves and flowers. Xylella fastidiosa bacteria, which can infect citrus fruit and vines, has attacked olive trees in Apulia, southern Italy, causing olive quick decline syndrome (OQDS). The main vector is Philaenus spumarius (meadow spittlebug). A pest that spreads through olive trees is the black scale bug, a small black scale insect that resembles a small black spot. They attach themselves firmly to olive trees and reduce the quality of the fruit; their main predators are wasps. The curculio beetle eats the edges of leaves, leaving sawtooth damage. Rabbits eat the bark of olive trees and can do considerable damage, especially to young trees. If the bark is removed around the entire circumference of a tree, it is likely to die. Voles and mice do damage by eating the roots. At the northern edge of their cultivation zone, for instance in northern Italy, southern France and Switzerland, olive trees suffer occasionally from frost. Gales and long-continued rains during the gathering season cause damage. In the colder Mediterranean hinterland, olive cultivation is replaced by other fruits, typically the chestnut. As an invasive species , South Australia|alt=Olives as invasive weeds, Adelaide Hills, South Australia Since its first domestication, O. europaea has been spreading back to the wild from planted groves. Its original wild populations in southern Europe have been largely swamped by feral plants. In some other parts of the world where it has been introduced, most notably South Australia, the olive has become a major weed that displaces native vegetation. In South Australia, its seeds are spread by the introduced red fox and by many bird species, including the European starling and the native emu, into woodlands, where they germinate and eventually form a dense canopy that prevents regeneration of native trees. As the climate of South Australia is very dry and bushfire prone, the oil-rich feral olive tree substantially increases the fire hazard of native sclerophyll woodlands. Harvesting Olives are harvested in the autumn and winter. More specifically in the Northern Hemisphere, green olives are picked from the end of September to about the middle of November. In the Southern Hemisphere, green olives are picked from the middle of October to the end of November, and black olives are collected worldwide from the middle of November to the end of January or early February. In southern Europe, harvesting is done for several weeks in winter, but the time varies in each country, and with the season and the cultivar. Large olive trees produce on average about 400 pounds of olives annually. Most olives today are harvested by shaking the boughs or the whole tree. Using olives found lying on the ground can result in poor quality oil, due to damage. Another method involves standing on a ladder and "milking" the olives into a sack tied around the harvester's waist. This method produces high quality oil. A third method uses a device called an oli-net that wraps around the tree trunk and opens to form an umbrella-like catcher from which workers collect the fruit. Another method uses an electric tool with large tongs that spin around quickly, removing fruit from the tree. Table olive varieties are more difficult to harvest, as workers must take care not to damage the fruit; baskets that hang around the worker's neck are used. In some places in Italy, Croatia, and Greece, olives are harvested by hand because the terrain is too mountainous for machines. As a result, the fruit is not bruised, which leads to a superior finished product. The method also involves sawing off branches, which is healthy for future production. The amount of oil contained in the fruit differs greatly by cultivar; the pericarp is usually 60–70% oil. Typical yields are of oil per tree per year. Fermentation and curing Raw or fresh olives are naturally very bitter and astringent; to make them palatable, olives must be cured and fermented, thereby removing oleuropein, a bitter phenolic compound that can reach levels of 14% of dry matter in young olives. In addition to oleuropein, other phenolic compounds render freshly picked olives unpalatable and must be removed or lowered in quantity through curing and fermentation. Generally speaking, phenolics reach their peak in young fruit and are converted as the fruit matures. The curing process may take from a few days with lye, to a few months with brine or salt packing. With the exception of California style and salt-cured olives, all methods of curing involve a major fermentation involving bacteria and yeast that is of equal importance to the final table olive product. Traditional cures, using the natural microflora on the fruit to induce fermentation, lead to two important outcomes: the leaching out and breakdown of oleuropein and other unpalatable phenolic compounds, and the generation of favourable metabolites from bacteria and yeast, such as organic acids, probiotics, glycerol, and esters, which affect the sensory properties of the final table olives. Lactic acid is the most important metabolite, as it lowers the pH, acting as a natural preservative against the growth of unwanted pathogenic species. The result is table olives which can be stored without refrigeration. Fermentations dominated by lactic acid bacteria are, therefore, the most suitable method of curing olives. Yeast-dominated fermentations produce a different suite of metabolites which provide poorer preservation, so they are corrected with an acid such as citric acid in the final processing stage to provide microbial stability. Olives are soaked in lye (dilute NaOH, 2–4%) for 8–10 hours to hydrolyse the oleuropein. They are usually considered "treated" when the lye has penetrated two-thirds of the way into the fruit. They are then washed once or several times in water to remove the caustic solution and transferred to fermenting vessels full of brine at typical concentrations of 8–12% NaCl. • Fermentation is carried out by the natural microbiota present on the olives that survive the lye treatment process. Many organisms are involved, usually reflecting the local conditions or terroir of the olives. During a typical fermentation gram-negative enterobacteria flourish in small numbers at first but are rapidly outgrown by lactic acid bacteria species such as Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus brevis and Pediococcus damnosus. These bacteria produce lactic acid to help lower the pH of the brine and therefore stabilize the product against unwanted pathogenic species. A diversity of yeasts then accumulate in sufficient numbers to help complete the fermentation alongside the lactic acid bacteria. Yeasts commonly mentioned include the teleomorphs Pichia anomala, Pichia membranifaciens, Debaryomyces hansenii and Kluyveromyces marxianus. • California or artificial ripening: Applied to green and semi-ripe olives, they are placed in lye and soaked. Upon their removal, they are washed in water injected with compressed air, without fermentation. This process is repeated several times until both oxygen and lye have soaked through to the pit. The repeated, saturated exposure to air oxidises the skin and flesh of the fruit, turning it black in an artificial process that mimics natural ripening. Once fully oxidised or "blackened", they are brined and acid corrected and are then ready for eating. ==Longevity==

Olive trees have been venerated for their resilience and longevity since antiquity; several specimens are reputed to be several thousand years old. However, compared to other woody plants, the exact lifespan is difficult to determine through common methods like dendrochronology (analyzing tree rings) due to the olive tree's irregular growth patterns, which can include missing annual tree rings, hollowed-out interiors, and multiple trunks. For example, a 2013 study revealed wide disparities among different laboratories conducting tree-ring dating of the same specimens. Although age can be inferred from a tree's diameter, this method is imperfect due to a range of other factors that affect size and length, such as soil fertility and climatic conditions. with some research finding that most of the oldest trees live up to 700 years. Oldest living trees • An olive tree in Mouriscas, Abrantes, Portugal, Oliveira do Mouchão, is one of the oldest known olive trees still alive to this day, with an estimated age of 3,350 years, planted approximately at the beginning of the Atlantic Bronze Age. • An olive tree in the city of Bar in Montenegro has an estimated age of between 2,014 and 2,480 years. • An olive tree on the island of Brijuni in Croatia has a radiocarbon dating age of about 1,600 years. It still gives fruit (about per year), which is made into olive oil. • An olive tree in west Athens, named Plato's Olive Tree, is thought to be a remnant of the grove where Plato's Academy was situated, making it an estimated 2,400 years old. The tree consisted of a cavernous trunk from which a few branches were still sprouting in 1975 when a traffic accident caused a bus to uproot it. • An olive tree called Farga d'Arió in Ulldecona, Catalonia, Spain, has been estimated (with laser-perimetry methods) to date back to 314 AD, which would mean that it was planted when Constantine the Great was Roman emperor. • Some Italian olive trees are believed to date back to Ancient Rome (8th century BC to 5th century AD), although identifying progenitor trees in ancient sources is difficult. There are other trees about 1,000 years old in the same garden. The 15th-century trees of Olivo della Linza, at Alliste in the Province of Lecce in Apulia on the Italian mainland, were noted by Bishop Ludovico de Pennis during his pastoral visit to the Diocese of Nardò-Gallipoli in 1452. • The village of Bcheale, Lebanon, claims to have the oldest olive trees in the world (4000 BC for the oldest), but no scientific study conclusively supports these claims. Research published in 2024 determined that at least one tree was over 1,100 years, while most others were around 500 years old. Trees in the towns of Amioun appear to be at least 1,500 years old. • Several trees in the Garden of Gethsemane (from the Hebrew words gat shemanim or olive press) in Jerusalem are claimed to date back to the time of Jesus. A study conducted by the National Research Council of Italy in 2012 used carbon dating on older parts of the trunks of three trees from Gethsemane and came up with the dates of 1092, 1166 and 1198 AD, while DNA tests show that the trees were originally planted from the same parent plant. According to molecular analysis, the tested trees showed the same allelic profile at all microsatellite loci analyzed, which furthermore may indicate attempt to keep the lineage of an older species intact. However, Bernabei writes, "All the tree trunks are hollow inside so that the central, older wood is missing... In the end, only three from a total of eight olive trees could be successfully dated. The dated ancient olive trees do not, however, allow any hypothesis to be made with regard to the age of the remaining five giant olive trees." Babcox concludes, "The roots of the eight oldest trees are possibly much older. Visiting guides to the garden often state that they are two thousand years old." • The 2,000-year-old Bidni olive trees on Malta, which have been confirmed through carbon dating, have been protected since 1933 and are listed in UNESCO's Database of National Cultural Heritage Laws. In 2011, after recognising their historical and landscape value, and in recognition of the fact that "only 20 trees remain from 40 at the beginning of the 20th century", Maltese authorities declared the ancient Bidni olive grove at Bidnija as a Tree Protected Area. • The Al-Mihras olive trees of Jordan represent an ancient genetic lineage, with some specimens exceeding 1,000 years in age. Genomic sequencing identifies the cultivar as a potential ancestor to modern European varieties like Frantoio and Manzanilla, while its single-nucleotide polymorphisms contribute to high oleic acid content and climate resilience. In 2024, the Al-Mihras trees were recognized by UNESCO for its historical and cultural significance. File:Ulivone di Canneto Sabino.jpg|Canneto Sabino, Italy File:Olive tree Karystos2.jpg|Karystos, Euboea, Greece File:OlivaAjv.jpg|Partenit, Ukraine ==Global production==

Olives are one of the most extensively cultivated fruit crops in the world. As of 2024, 58 countries across five continents maintain commercial olive groves, which occupied roughly 11.6 million hectares (28.6 million acres) — one-quarter of the world's permanent cultivated area. By comparison, in 2011, about were planted with olive trees, which was more than twice the amount of land devoted to apples, bananas, or mangoes; only coconut trees and oil palms commanded more space. Cultivation area tripled from between 1960 and 1998 and reached a peak of in 2008. Nevertheless, live production in the Mediterranean region has declined since 2019 due to climate, economic and political factors. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, the 10 leading producers are all in the Mediterranean region and responsible for 95% of the world's olives. Spain is the world's leading producer and concentrates the largest land area to olive cultivation, with more than 180 million trees spanning over 2,507,684 hectares, followed by Tunisia (1,746,360 ha) and Italy (1,143,363 ha). In terms of olive oil output, Spain is by far the largest producer, making up 25% of the global supply, followed by Italy, Morocco, and Tunisia. The European Union is responsible for nearly 60% of the world's olive oil. ==Nutrition==

A reference serving of cured green olives provides of food energy, are a rich source of vitamin E (25% of the Daily Value, DV), and contain a large amount of sodium (104% DV); other nutrients are insignificant. Green olives are 75% water, 15% fat, 4% carbohydrates and 1% protein (table). Phytochemicals The polyphenol composition of olive fruits varies during fruit ripening and during processing by fermentation when olives are immersed whole in brine or crushed to produce oil. Olive fruit contains several types of polyphenols, mainly tyrosols, phenolic acids, flavonols and flavones, and for black olives, anthocyanins. The main bitter flavor of olives before curing results from oleuropein and aglycone which total in content, respectively, 72 and 82 mg/100 g in black olives, and 56 and 59 mg/100 g in green olives. to form aldehydes, dialdehydes, and aldehydic aglycones. Polyphenol content also varies with olive cultivar and the manner of presentation, with plain olives having higher contents than those that are pitted or stuffed. Allergenicity Olive tree pollen is extremely allergenic, with an OPALS allergy scale rating of 10 out of 10. Olea europaea is primarily wind-pollinated and its buoyant pollen is a strong trigger for asthma. One popular variety, 'Swan Hill', is widely sold as an "allergy-free" olive tree; however, this variety does bloom, and it produces allergenic pollen. ==Uses and properties==

The olive tree, Olea europaea, has been cultivated for the olive fruit, olive oil, fine wood, olive leaf, and ornamental reasons. About 80% of all harvested olives are turned into oil, while about 20% are used as table olives. Olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the resulting oil. It is most commonly used for culinary purposes, namely frying, marinating, or flavoring food or as a salad dressing. Olive oil is also used in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, soaps, and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps. Olive oil serves a ritual purpose in some religions. Pursuant to historical tradition, various Christian churches use olive oil as part of consecration ceremonies, such as administering certain sacraments and ecclesiastical functions. Spain accounts for almost half of global olive oil production; other major producers are Portugal, Italy, Tunisia, Greece and Turkey. Per capita consumption is highest in Greece, followed by Italy and Spain. The composition of olive oil varies with the cultivar, elevation, time of harvest and extraction process. It consists mainly of oleic acid (up to 83%), with smaller amounts of other fatty acids including linoleic acid (up to 21%) and palmitic acid (up to 20%). Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is required to have no more than 0.8% free acidity and fruity flavor characteristics. Table olives Table olives are classified by the International Olive Council (IOC) into three groups according to the degree of ripeness achieved before harvesting: • Green olives are picked when they have obtained full size, while unripe; they are usually shades of green to yellow and contain the bitter phytochemical oleuropein. Olive wood Olive wood is very hard and tough and is prized for its durability, colour, high combustion temperature, and interesting grain patterns. Because of the commercial importance of the fruit, slow growth, and relatively small size of the tree, olive wood and its products are relatively expensive. Common uses of olive wood include kitchen utensils, carved wooden bowls, cutting boards, fine furniture, and decorative items. The yellow or light greenish-brown wood is often finely veined with a darker tint; being very hard and close-grained, it is valued by woodworkers. Ornamental In modern landscape design, olive trees are frequently used as ornamental features for their distinctively gnarled trunks and evergreen silvery-gray foliage. Smaller cultivars have become increasingly popular as indoor plants due to their resilience and aesthetic appeal. Olive mill wastewater The pressing of olives to create olive oil results in a liquid byproduct known in Latin as amurca or olive mill wastewater. Owing to its bitterness and unpleasant aroma, it was historically discarded as a waste product, though multiple uses for it have been proposed. Olive stone The hard, inedible core of the olive fruit, also known as the pit or stone, has potential applications including for biofuel, activated carbon (used for water filtration and absorption), furfural production, filler, animal feed, or resin formation. Spain, the world's leading olive grower, produces about 400,000 tons of olive pits annually, which are mostly used as biomass for residential boilers, olive mills, and some industries. Environmental health and sustainability Olive tree cultivation has been linked to promoting biodiversity, improving soil quality, and mitigating climate change through carbon sequestration. As long-lived perennial plants, they absorb carbon dioxide over long time frames, with groves sequestering approximately 2.2 to 4.5 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per hectare annually. == Symbolic and cultural significance ==

showing two bearded men and a youth gathering olives from a tree, by the Antimenes Painter () Researchers and historians have identified the olive as a defining characteristic of both ancient and contemporary Mediterranean culture, geography, and cuisine. Georges Duhamel remarked that the "Mediterranean ends where the olive tree no longer grows". Olives were domesticated in the third millennium BC at the latest, at which point they, along with grain and grapes, became part of Colin Renfrew's Mediterranean triad of staple crops that fueled the emergence of more complex societies. In ancient Greece, olives and olive oil became a major export product during the Minoan and Mycenaean periods. In Egypt, these imported olive branches may have acquired ritual meanings. It is likely that olive oil was used as a perfume. The olive was sacred to Athens and its patron deity Athena, appearing on its coinage. Roman mythology held that Hercules introduced the olive tree to Italy from North Africa, while the goddess of wisdom, Minerva, taught the art of cultivation and oil extraction. The Roman architect and engineer Vitruvius describes of the use of charred olive wood in tying together walls and foundations in his De Architectura. Olives were one of the main elements in ancient Israelite cuisine. Olive oil was used also for lighting, sacrificial offerings, ointment, and anointing religious and political officials. An olive branch was brought back to Noah by a dove to demonstrate that the flood was over. Deuteronomy characterizes the "Promised Land" of the Hebrews as containing olive groves and lists olives as one of the seven species that are special products of the Land of Israel. Two olive branches appear in Israel's emblem. The tree was declared the unofficial national tree of Israel in 2021 by a survey of Israelis. The olive tree, as well as its fruit and oil, play an important role in Christianity. Gethsemane, an olive garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives, is where Jesus underwent his agonized prayer to God and was where he was betrayed and arrested before his crucifixion. The olive tree and olive oil are mentioned seven times in the Quran. Olive leaves are used as incense in some Muslim Mediterranean countries. In Palestine, the olive tree carries symbolic connotations of resilience, health, ancestral ties, and community. Olive trees are a symbol of Palestinian identity, and signify the bond between Palestinians and their land. serving as the primary source of income for over 800,000 families and accounting for 14 percent of the Palestinian economy. Almost half the cultivated land in the West Bank is planted with about 10 million olive trees. The olive tree's cultural and economic significance to the Palestinians has put it at the center of the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict; an estimated 800,000 olive trees have been uprooted by Israeli authorities and settlers since 1967. During the early stage of the American Revolutionary War, the Second Continental Congress of the Thirteen American Colonies issued the "Olive Branch Petition" to Great Britain to prevent further escalation. The Great Seal of the United States, first used in 1782, depicts an eagle clutching an olive branch and arrows in its talons, indicating the power of peace and war, respectively. The eagle is portrayed as casting its gaze towards the olive branch, symbolizing the United States' preference to pursue peace before war. Thomas Jefferson, a founding father and third president of the United States, was an admirer of olives and olive oil, regarding the tree as "the richest gift of heaven". The flag of the United Nations adopted in 1946 is a world map surrounded by two olive branches. == See also ==