Olea europaea - Olive

The presence of Olea europaea all around the Mediterranean, dates back to ancient times, one could say to the flood. Both an ornamental tree and a functional tree, it is inseparable from the Mediterranean landscape, just like the fig tree, the evergreen oak, the pomegranate tree and the vine. Its silhouette is instantly recognisable: a sturdy and knotty trunk as it ages, a bushy and spreading crown, dressed in grey-green evergreen foliage with a silver underside, rustling in the wind. Spring covers it with countless small yellow-cream flowers, adding to its charm. Fruiting occurs after ten years, in the form of green olives that ripen to black. The fruit has an extremely bitter taste, making it inedible in its current state. It is very resistant to drought and appreciates well-drained, even rocky soils, but cannot tolerate temperatures below -12°C (10.4° F). This small tree can be grown in a large pot, provided it is protected during winter.

Olea europaea or common olive tree belongs to the Oleaceae family, it is the most represented species within this family which counts nearly 25, all showing exceptional longevity. This small evergreen tree reaches about 9 m (29.5 ft) in height, after many years of cultivation. But in its young age, its growth is rapid, and fruiting occurs after around 10 years. Its picturesque habit can adopt many fanciful silhouettes: spreading branches, with a single trunk or multiple trunks, cracked and rough bark with multiple scars left by time. Its evergreen foliage is composed of opposite, entire and elliptical leaves, which are leathery and sprinkled with scale-like hairs. The leaves are more or less narrow, and measure 3 cm to 9 cm (1.2 in to 3.5 in) long. They cover branches dotted with peltate scales. Their colour is a mixture of green and grey, with the underside of the leaves being downy and silver. The very brief flowering takes place for one week at the end of spring. The flowers, white or yellowish, are grouped in axillary panicles. The fruits, the olives, are fleshy drupes with hard stones, 5 mm to 4 cm (0.2 in to 1.6 in) long, green then black at maturity. Its bark is grey and smooth when young, and cracks with age, while the tree emits shoots at the base of the trunk.

The Common Olive tree is perfectly adapted to the Mediterranean climate, but its distribution range extends northward depending on summer rainfall, which seems to be a determining factor. Once well established, this tree withstands moderate freezing of around -10° C to -12° C (14° F to 10.4° F), in well-drained soil, but it needs drought in summer to properly ripen its wood. In warmer areas, it can be planted as a solitary tree, surrounded by daylilies, agapanthus or iris, santolina, cyclamen, Muscaris, lonicera nitida, or covered with a climbing rose (for example, 'Senateur Lafolette'). It can also be planted in a windbreak hedge with laurel trees, bay laurel, evergreen oaks, strawberry trees, and myrtles. In an orchard, plant alongside almond trees, quince trees, flowering or fruiting apple trees, and plum trees. In colder regions, plant it in large pots, which can be sheltered in winter.

A very old tree: the Olive tree named "The King of Kings" in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, in the Alpes-Maritimes, has a stump with a circumference of 20 m (65.6 ft), which encompasses the surrounding rocks; it is estimated to be 1000 to 2000 years old.