Olives of the Mediterrenean

The olive (i/ˈɒlɪv/ or i/ˈɑːləv/, Olea europaea, meaning Oil from/of Europe) is a species of small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the... more

by Tina M Wenger

Title

Olives of the Mediterrenean

Artist

Tina M Wenger

Medium

Photograph - Prints Of Photographs

Description

The olive (i/ˈɒlɪv/ or i/ˈɑːləv/, Olea europaea, meaning "Oil from/of Europe") is a species of small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iraq, and northern Iran at the south of the Caspian Sea.

Its 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 olīva which is cognate with the Greek ἐλαία (elaía)[1][2] and also Mycenaean Greek 𐀁𐀨𐀷 e-ra-wa ("elaiwa"), attested in Linear B syllabic script.[3][4] The word "oil" in multiple languages ultimately derives from the name of this tree and its fruit.
The olive tree, Olea europaea, is an evergreen tree or shrub native to the Mediterranean, Asia and Africa. It is short and squat, and rarely exceeds 8–15 metres (26–49 ft) in height. However, the Pisciottana, a unique variety comprising 40,000 trees found only in the area around Pisciotta in the Campania region of southern Italy often exceeds 8–15 metres (26–49 ft) with correspondingly large trunk diameters. The silvery green leaves are oblong, measuring 4–10 centimetres (1.6–3.9 in) long and 1–3 centimetres (0.39–1.2 in) wide. The trunk is typically gnarled and twisted.

The small white, feathery flowers, with ten-cleft calyx and corolla, two stamens and bifid stigma, are borne generally on the previous year's wood, in racemes springing from the axils of the leaves.

The fruit is a small drupe 1–2.5 centimetres (0.39–0.98 in) long, thinner-fleshed and smaller in wild plants than in orchard cultivars. Olives are harvested in the green to purple stage. Canned black olives may contain chemicals (usually ferrous sulfate) that turn them black artificially.

Olea europaea contains a seed commonly referred to in American English as a pit or a rock, and in British English as a stone.

Uploaded

September 13th, 2013