Theolive,botanical nameOlea europaea (meaning "European olive"), is aspecies of smallevergreentree orshrub in thefamilyOleaceae, which includes species such aslilac,jasmine,forsythia, and the trueash tree. When in shrub form, it is known asOlea europaea'Montra',dwarf olive, orlittle olive. The olive is found traditionally in theMediterranean Basin, with wildsubspecies further afield inAfrica and westernAsia. The olive is thetype species for itsgenus,Olea, and lends its name to theOleaceae plant family; its fruit is classed botanically as adrupe, similar to the cherry or peach.

Olive Temporal range: LatePleistocene torecent,0.06–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Conservation status
Data Deficient (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Oleaceae
Genus:	Olea
Species:	O. europaea
Binomial name
Olea europaea L.
Distribution map ofOlea europaea s.l.

The olive has major historical, economic, and cultural significance in the Mediterranean region.^[2] It was first cultivated on the Greek island ofCrete about 3500 BC and was widely prized for a variety of purposes, including as a fuel, fertilizer, ointment, lubricant, medical remedy, and food;^[3] the olive also held symbolic and spiritual importance and was used in religious rituals and public ceremonies. The olive is a core ingredient inMiddle Eastern andMediterranean cuisines, particularly in the form ofolive oil, which is used primarily as acooking medium,condiment, andpreservative.

The olive is cultivated in all countries of theMediterranean, as well as in Australia, New Zealand, the Americas, and South Africa.^[4][5] Spain, Italy, and Greece lead the world in commercial olive production; other important olive-producing countries are Turkey, Tunisia, Syria, Morocco, Algeria, and Portugal.^[3] There are thousands ofcultivars of the olive tree, which may be used primarily for oil, eating, or both; olives cultivated for consumption are generally referred to as "table olives".^[6] About 80% of all harvested olives are processed into oil, while about 20% are used as table olives.

The wordolive derives fromLatinŏlīva 'olive fruit; olive tree',^[7] possibly throughEtruscan 𐌀𐌅𐌉𐌄𐌋𐌄 (eleiva) from the archaicProto-Greek form *ἐλαίϝα (*elaíwa) (Classic Greekἐλαίαelaía 'olive fruit; olive tree').^[8][9] The wordoil originally meant 'olive oil', fromŏlĕum,^[10]ἔλαιον (élaion 'olive oil').^[11][12] The word for 'oil' in multiple other languages also ultimately derives from the name of this tree and its fruit. The oldest attested forms of the Greek words areMycenaean𐀁𐀨𐀷,e-ra-wa, and𐀁𐀨𐀺,e-ra-wo or𐀁𐁉𐀺,e-rai-wo, written in theLinear B syllabic script.^[13]

The olive tree,Olea europaea, is anevergreen tree or shrub native to Mediterranean Europe, Asia, and Africa. It is short and squat and rarely exceeds 8–15 m (25–50 ft) in height. 'Pisciottana', a unique variety comprising 40,000 trees found only in the area aroundPisciotta in theCampania region of southernItaly, often exceeds this, with correspondingly large trunk diameters. The silvery greenleaves are oblong, measuring 4–10 cm (1+1⁄2–4 in) long and1–3 cm (3⁄8–1+3⁄16 in) wide. The trunk is typically gnarled and twisted.^[14]

The small, white, featheryflowers, with ten-cleftcalyx andcorolla, twostamens, and bifidstigma, are borne generally on the previous year's wood, inracemes springing from the axils of the leaves.^{[citation needed]}

The fruit is a smalldrupe,1–2.5 cm (3⁄8–1 in) long when ripe, thinner-fleshed and smaller in wild plants than in orchard cultivars. Olives are harvested in the green to purple stage.^[15]O. europaea contains apyrena commonly referred to in American English as a "pit", and in British English as a "stone".^[16]

The six natural subspecies ofOlea europaea are distributed over a wide range:^[17][18][19]

• O. e. subsp.europaea (Mediterranean Basin)

The subspecieseuropaea is divided into twovarieties, theeuropaea, which was formerly namedOlea sativa, with theseedlings called "olivasters", andsilvestris, which corresponds to the old wildly growing Mediterranean speciesO. oleaster, with the seedlings called "oleasters".^[20] Thesylvestris is characterized by a smaller, shrubby tree that produces smaller fruits and leaves.^[21]

• O. e. subsp.cuspidata (from South Africa throughout East Africa,Arabia toSouthwest China)
• O. e. subsp.cerasiformis (Madeira); also known asOlea maderensis
• O. e. subsp.guanchica (Canary Islands)
• O. e. subsp.laperrinei (Algeria, Sudan, Niger)
• O. e. subsp.maroccana (Morocco)

The subspeciesO. e. cerasiformis istetraploid, andO. e. maroccana ishexaploid.^[22] Wild-growing forms of the olive are sometimes treated as the speciesOlea oleaster, or "oleaster." The trees referred to as "white" and "black" olives in Southeast Asia are not actually olives but species ofCanarium.^[23]

Hundreds of cultivars of the olive tree are known.^[24][25] An olive's cultivar has a significant impact on its colour, size, shape, and growth characteristics, as well as the qualities of olive oil.^[24] Olive cultivars may be used primarily for oil, eating, or both. Olives cultivated for consumption are generally referred to as "table olives".^[6]

Since many olive cultivars areself-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,^[26] quick growth, and larger or more consistent crops.^{[citation needed]}

Fossil evidence indicates that the olive tree had its origins 20–40 million years ago in theOligocene, in what now corresponds to Italy and the eastern Mediterranean Basin.^[27][28] 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.^[29] Wild olive trees, or oleasters, have been collected in theEastern Mediterranean since ~19,000BP.^[30] Thegenome of cultivated olives reflects their origin from oleaster populations in the Eastern Mediterranean.^{[31][32][33][34][35][36]} The olive plant was first cultivated some 7,000 years ago in Mediterranean regions.^[27][37]

For thousands of years olives were grown primarily for lamp oil, with little regard for culinary flavor.^[38] Its origin can be traced to theLevant based on written tablets, olive pits, and wood fragments found in ancient tombs.^[38][39] As far back as 3000 BC, olives were grown commercially inCrete and may have been the source of the wealth of theMinoan civilization.^[40]

The ancestry of the cultivated olive is unknown. Fossilolea pollen has been found inMacedonia and other places around the Mediterranean, indicating that this genus is an original element of the Mediterranean flora. Fossilized leaves ofolea were found in thepalaeosols of the volcanic Greek island ofSantorini and dated to about 37,000 BP. Imprints of larvae of olivewhiteflyAleurobus 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.^[41] Other leaves found on the same island are dated back to 60,000 BP, making them the oldest known olives from the Mediterranean.^[42]

Olives are not native to theAmericas. Spanish colonists brought the olive to theNew World, where its cultivation prospered in present-day Peru, Chile, Uruguay and Argentina. The first seedlings from Spain were planted inLima by Antonio de Rivera in 1560. Olive tree cultivation quickly spread along the valleys of South America's dry Pacific coast where the climate was similar to the Mediterranean.^[43] Spanish missionaries established the tree inCalifornia in the 18th century; it was first cultivated atMission San Diego de Alcalá between 1769 and 1795. Orchards were started at other missions, but in 1838, an inspection found only two olive orchards in California. Cultivation for oil gradually became a highly successful commercial venture from the 1860s onward.^[44][45]

Olive trees were successfully introduced in Japan in 1908 onShodo Island; located in theSeto Inland Sea, the island has a moderate climate characterized by stable year-round temperature and relatively low rainfall. It became the cradle of olive cultivation in Japan,^[46] accounting for over 95% of the country's total production,^[47] and earning the nickname "Olive Island".^[48] Olives play a central role in the local culture and economy, with the island's mascot and tourism merchandise reflecting olive themes.^[48] Olive cultivation has spread to other regions, namely in neighboringKagawa andOkayama and nearbyKyushu.^[47] The vast majority of Japanese growers are small-scale farmers.^[47]

Commercialolive oil production started in India in 2016, following the planting of olive saplings imported from Israel inRajasthan'sThar Desert in 2008.^[49] 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.^[50] 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.^[51]

Amid ongoingclimate warming, several small-scale olive production farms have also been established at fairly high latitudes in Europe and North America since the early 21st century, including in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Canada.^{[52][53][54][55]}

There were an estimated 865 million olive trees in the world in 2005, of which the vast majority were found in Mediterranean countries, with traditionally marginal areas accounting for no more than 25% of olive-planted area and 10% of oil production.^[56]

Olives are thought to have been domesticated in the third millennium BC at the latest, at which point they, along with grain and grapes, became part ofColin Renfrew'sMediterranean triad of staple crops that fueled the emergence of more complex societies.^[57] Olives, and especially (perfumed) olive oil, became a major export product during the Minoan andMycenaean periods. Dutch archaeologistJorrit Kelder proposed that the Mycenaeans sent shipments of olive oil, probably alongside live olive branches, to the court of the Egyptian pharaohAkhenaten as a diplomatic gift.^[58] In Egypt, these imported olive branches may have acquired ritual meanings, as they are depicted as offerings on the wall of theAten temple and were used in wreaths for the burial ofTutankhamun. It is likely that, as well as being used for culinary purposes, olive oil was also used to various other ends, including as a perfume.^{[citation needed]}

Theancient Greeks smeared olive oil on their bodies and hair as a matter of grooming and good health. Olive oil was used to anoint kings and athletes in ancient Greece. It was burnt in the sacred lamps of temples and was the "eternal flame" of the original Olympic games. Victors in these games were crowned with its leaves. In Homer'sOdyssey,Odysseus crawls beneath two shoots of olive that grow from a single stock,^[59] and in theIliad, (XVII.53ff) there is a metaphoric description of a lone olive tree in the mountains, by a spring; the Greeks observed that the olive rarely thrives at a distance from the sea, which in Greece invariably means up mountain slopes. Greek myth attributed to the primordialculture-heroAristaeus the understanding of olive husbandry, along with cheese-making and bee-keeping.^[60] Olive was one of the woods used to fashion the most primitive Greekcult figures, calledxoana, referring to their wooden material; they were reverently preserved for centuries.^[61]

In an archaic Athenianfoundation myth,Athena won the patronage ofAttica fromPoseidon with the gift of the olive. According to the fourth-century BC father of botany,Theophrastus, olive trees ordinarily attained an age around 200 years,^[62] he mentions that the very olive tree of Athena still grew on theAcropolis; it was still to be seen there in the second century AD;^[63] and whenPausanias was shown itc. 170 AD, he reported "Legend also says that when the Persians fired Athens the olive was burnt down, but on the very day it was burnt it grew again to the height of twocubits."^[64] Indeed, olive suckers sprout readily from the stump, and the great age of some existing olive trees shows that it was possible that the olive tree of the Acropolis dated to the Bronze Age. The olive was sacred to Athena and appeared on the Athenian coinage. According to another myth,Elaea was an accomplished athlete killed by her fellow athletes who had grown envious of her; but Athena andGaia turned her into an olive tree as reward.^[65]

Theophrastus, inOn the Causes of Plants, states that the cultivated olive must be vegetatively propagated; indeed, the pits give rise to thorny, wild-type olives, spread far and wide by birds. Theophrastus reports how the bearing olive can be grafted on the wild olive, for which the Greeks had a separate name,kotinos.^[66] In hisEnquiry into Plants, he states that the olive can be propagated from a piece of the trunk, the root, a twig, or a stake.^[67]

According toPliny the Elder a vine, afig tree and an olive tree grew in the middle of theRoman Forum; the olive was planted to provide shade. (The garden was recreated in the 20th century).^[68] The Roman poetHorace mentions it in reference to his own diet, which he describes as very simple: "As for me, olives,endives, and smoothmallows provide sustenance."^[69]Lord Monboddo comments on the olive in 1779 as one of the foods preferred by the ancients and as one of the most perfect foods.^[70]

Vitruvius describes of the use of charred olive wood in tying together walls and foundations in hisDe Architectura.^[71]

Olives were one of the main elements inancient Israelite cuisine. Olive oil was used for not only food and cooking, but also lighting, sacrificial offerings,ointment, andanointment for priestly or royal office.^[72] The olive tree is one of the first plants mentioned in theHebrew Bible, and one of the most significant. An olive branch (or leaf, depending on translation) was brought back toNoah by a dove to demonstrate that the flood was over (Genesis 8:11).^{[citation needed][73]}

The olive is listed inDeuteronomy 8:8 as one of theseven species that are noteworthy products of theLand of Israel.^[74] According to theHalakha, the Jewish law mandatory for allJews, the olive is one of the seven species that require the recitation ofme'eyn shalosh after they are consumed. Olive oil is also the most recommended and best possible oil for the lighting of theShabbat candles.^[75]

Due to its importance in the Hebrew Bible, the olive has significant national meaning in modern Israeli culture. Two olive branches appear as part of Israel's emblem and the olive tree is Israel's national tree.^[76]

Apart from being mentioned in theHebrew Bible (the ChristianOld Testament), olives play an important role in Christianity. TheMount of Olives, east ofJerusalem, is mentioned several times in theNew Testament. The Allegory of the Olive Tree in St Paul'sEpistle to the Romans refers to the scattering and gathering of Israel. It compares theIsraelites to a tame olive tree and the Gentiles to a wild olive branch. The olive tree itself, as well as olive oil and olives, play an important role in the Bible.^[77]

The olive tree and olive oil are mentioned seven times in theQuran,^[78] and the olive is praised as a precious fruit. Olive tree and olive oil health benefits have been propounded in prophetic medicine.Muhammad is reported to have said: "Take oil of olive and massage with it – it is a blessed tree" (Sunan al-Darimi, 69:103). Olives are substitutes for dates (if not available) duringRamadan fasting, and olive tree leaves are used asincense in someMuslim Mediterranean countries.^[79]

InPalestine the olive tree and plant carry the symbolic connotations of resilience, health, ancestral ties and community.^[80][81] Researchers have found that the olive tree is tied into the Palestinians' Sutra, A’wana andSumud.^[82] The tree is a means of survival and security, represents their bond to their land, community and animals.^[80] Olive trees also serve as a symbol of their identities, which include their physical and emotional aspects and their socio-cultural values.^[80][82] Palestinian people view the olive trees as the first witnesses that Palestine is their homeland.^[80]

The harvest season is referred to as "Palestine's wedding" and is considered a national holiday when schools close for two days so that pupils and teachers can join in the harvest.^[82] This holiday allows community and family members to gather and serves as a ritual that encompasses their values surrounding family, labour, community and aid for other members of the community that do not possess land.^[82] This is practised through the tradition of leaving fruit on a tree during the harvest so that those who do not have land and are unable to take part in the harvest can still reap the benefits.^[82]

TheGreat Seal of the United States first used in 1782 depicts an eagle clutching an olive branch in one of its talons, indicating the power of peace.^[83]

TheFlag of the United Nations adopted in 1946 is a world map with two olive branches.^[84]

• An olive tree inMouriscas,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,^[85][86] planted approximately at the beginning of theAtlantic Bronze Age.
• An olive tree in the city ofBar in Montenegro has an estimated age of between 2,014 and 2,480 years.^[87]
• An olive tree on the island ofBrijuni in Croatia has aradiocarbon dating age of about 1,600 years. It still gives fruit (about 30 kg or 66 lb per year), which is made into olive oil.^[88]
• An olive tree in westAthens, named Plato's Olive Tree, is thought to be a remnant of the grove wherePlato's Academy was situated, making it an estimated 2,400 years old.^[89] 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.^[89] Following that the trunk was preserved and displayed in the nearbyAgricultural University of Athens.
• The age of an olive tree in Crete, the Finix Olive, is claimed to be more than 2,000 years, based on archaeological evidence around the tree.^[90]
• Theolive tree of Vouves in Crete has an age estimated at between 2,000 and 4,000 years.^[91]
• An olive tree called Farga d'Arió inUlldecona,Catalonia, Spain, has been estimated (with laser-perimetry methods) to date back to 314 AD, which would mean that it was planted whenConstantine the Great wasRoman emperor.^[92]
• Some Italian olive trees are believed to date back toAncient Rome (8th century BC to 5th century AD), although identifyingprogenitor 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 theProvince of Lecce inApulia on the Italian mainland, were noted by Bishop Ludovico de Pennis during his pastoral visit to theDiocese of Nardò-Gallipoli in 1452.^[93]
• The village ofBcheale, Lebanon, claims to have the oldest olive trees in the world (4000 BC for the oldest), but no scientific study supports these claims. Other trees in the towns ofAmioun appear to be at least 1,500 years old.^[94][95]
• Several trees in the Garden ofGethsemane (from the Hebrew wordsgat shemanim or olive press) in Jerusalem are claimed to date back to the time ofJesus.^[96] A study conducted by the National Research Council of Italy in 2012 usedcarbon 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.^[97] 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.^[98] 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."^[99] 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."^[100]
• The 2,000-year-old^[101]Bidni olive trees onMalta, which have been confirmed through carbon dating,^[102] have been protected since 1933^[103] and are listed inUNESCO's Database of National Cultural Heritage Laws.^[104] 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",^[105] Maltese authorities declared the ancient Bidni olive grove atBidnija as a Tree Protected Area.^[106]

• Examples of olive trees
•  
  Kaštela, Croatia
•  
  Canneto Sabino, Italy
•  
  Karystos,Euboia, Greece
•  
  Partenit, Ukraine

The olive tree,Olea europaea, has been cultivated for olive oil, fine wood,olive leaf, ornamental reasons, and the olive fruit. About 80% of all harvested olives are turned into oil, while about 20% are used as table olives.^[24] The olive is one of the "trinity" or "triad" of basic ingredients inMediterranean cuisine, the other two beingwheat forbread,pasta, andcouscous; and thegrape forwine.^[107][108]

Olive oil is aliquid fat obtained from olives, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking, for frying foods or as asalad dressing. It is also used incosmetics,pharmaceuticals, andsoaps, and as afuel for traditionaloil lamps, and has additional uses in some religions. Spain accounts for almost half of global olive oil production; other major producers are Portugal, Italy, Tunisia, Greece and Turkey.^[109] Per capita consumption is highest in Greece, followed by Italy and Spain.^[110]

The composition of olive oil varies with the cultivar, elevation, time of harvest and extraction process. It consists mainly ofoleic acid (up to 83%), with smaller amounts of otherfatty acids includinglinoleic acid (up to 21%) andpalmitic acid (up to 20%). Extra virgin olive oil is required to have no more than 0.8%free acidity and fruity flavor characteristics.^[111]

Table olives are classified by theInternational Olive Council (IOC) into three groups according to the degree of ripeness achieved before harvesting:^[112]

1. Green olives are picked when they have obtained full size, while unripe; they are usually shades of green to yellow and contain the bitterphytochemicaloleuropein.^[112]
2. Semi-ripe or turning-colour olives are picked at the beginning of the ripening cycle, when the colour has begun to change from green to multicolour shades of red to brown. Only the skin is coloured, as the flesh of the fruit lacks pigmentation at this stage, unlike that of ripe olives.
3. Black olives orripe olives are picked at full maturity when fully ripe, displaying colours of purple, brown or black.^[112] Toleach the oleuropein from olives, commercial producers uselye, which neutralizes the bitterness of oleuropein, producing a mild flavour and soft texture characteristic of California black olives sold in cans.^[112] Such olives are typically preserved inbrine andsterilized under high heat during thecanning process.^[113]

Raw or fresh olives are naturally very bitter; to make them palatable, olives must be cured andfermented, thereby removingoleuropein, a bitter phenolic compound that can reach levels of 14% of dry matter in young olives.^[114] In addition to oleuropein, other phenolic compounds render freshly picked olives unpalatable and must also 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.^[115] Once ripening occurs, the levels of phenolics sharply decline through their conversion to other organic products, which render some cultivars edible immediately.^[114] One example of an edible olive native to the island ofThasos is thethroubes black olive, which becomes edible when allowed to ripen in the sun, shrivel, and fall from the tree.^[116][117]

The curing process may take from a few days with lye, to a few months with brine or salt packing.^[118] 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.^[119] 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.^[114] Mixed bacterial/yeast olive fermentations may have probiotic qualities.^[120][121]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.^[6]

The many types of preparations for table olives depend on local tastes and traditions. The most important commercial examples are listed below.

Lebanese or Phoenician fermentationApplied to green, semiripe, or ripe olives. Olives are soaked in salt water for 24–48 hours. Then they are slightly crushed with a rock to hasten the fermentation process. The olives are stored for a period of up to a year in a container with salt water, lemon juice, lemon peels, laurel and olive leaves, and rosemary. Some recipes may contain white vinegar or olive oil.^{[citation needed]}

Spanish or Sevillian fermentationMost commonly applied to green olive preparation, around 60% of all the world's table olives are produced with this method.^[122] 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.^[123] The brine is changed on a regular basis to help remove the phenolic compounds.^{[citation needed]}

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 orterroir of the olives. During a typical fermentationgram-negativeenterobacteria flourish in small numbers at first but are rapidly outgrown by lactic acid bacteria species such asLeuconostoc mesenteroides,Lactobacillus plantarum,Lactobacillus brevis andPediococcus 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 teleomorphsPichia anomala,Pichia membranifaciens,Debaryomyces hansenii andKluyveromyces marxianus.^[6]

Once fermented, the olives are placed in fresh brine and acid corrected, to be ready for market.^{[citation needed]}

Sicilian or Greek fermentationApplied to green, semiripe and ripe olives, they are almost identical to the Spanish type fermentation process, but the lye treatment process is skipped and the olives are placed directly in fermentation vessels full of brine (8–12% NaCl). The brine is changed on a regular basis to help remove the phenolic compounds. As the caustic treatment is avoided, lactic acid bacteria are only present in similar numbers to yeast and appear to be outdone by the abundant yeasts found on untreated olives. As very little acid is produced by the yeast fermentation, lactic, acetic, or citric acid is often added to the fermentation stage to stabilize the process.^[119]

Picholine or directly brined fermentationApplied to green, semi-ripe, or ripe olives, they are soaked in lye typically for longer periods than Spanish style (e.g. 10–72 hours) until the solution has penetrated three-quarters of the way into the fruit. They are then washed and immediately brined and acid corrected with citric acid to achieve microbial stability. Fermentation still occurs carried out by acidogenic yeast and bacteria but is more subdued than other methods. The brine is changed on a regular basis to help remove the phenolic compounds, and a series of progressively stronger concentrations of salt are added until the product is fully stabilized and ready to be eaten.^[6]

Water-cured fermentationApplied to green, semi-ripe, or ripe olives, these are soaked in water or weak brine and this solution is changed on a daily basis for 10–14 days. The oleuropein is naturally dissolved and leached into the water and removed during a continual soak-wash cycle. Fermentation takes place during the water treatment stage and involves a mixed yeast/bacteria ecosystem. Sometimes, the olives are lightly cracked with a blunt instrument to trigger fermentation and speed up the fermentation process. Once debittered, the olives are brined to concentrations of 8–12% NaCl and acid corrected and are then ready to eat.^[119]

Salt-cured fermentationApplied only to ripe olives, since it is only a light fermentation. They are usually produced in Morocco, Turkey, and other eastern Mediterranean countries. Once picked, the olives are vigorously washed and packed in alternating layers with salt. The high concentration of salt draws the moisture out of olives, dehydrating and shriveling them until they look somewhat analogous to a raisin. Once packed in salt, fermentation is minimal and only initiated by the most halophilic yeast species such asDebaryomyces hansenii. Once cured, they are sold in their natural state without any additives.^[6] So-calledoil-cured olives are cured in salt, and then soaked in oil.^[124]

California or artificial ripeningApplied 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.^[112][113]

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.^[125]

In modern landscape design olive trees are frequently used as ornamental features for their distinctively gnarled trunks and evergreen silvery-gray foliage.^[126]

The earliest evidence for the domestication of olives comes from theChalcolithic period archaeological site ofTeleilat 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 300stadia (55.6 km or 34.5 mi) 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 inIbn al-'Awwam's 12th-century agricultural work,Book on Agriculture.^[128]

Olives are cultivated in many regions of the world withMediterranean climates, such as South Africa, Chile, Peru, Pakistan, Australia, Oregon, and California, and in areas withtemperate climates such as New Zealand.^[129] They are also grown in theCórdoba Province, Argentina, which has a temperate climate.^[130]

Olive trees show a marked preference forcalcareous soils, flourishing best onlimestone 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 −10 °C (14 °F) may injure even a mature tree. They toleratedrought well because of their sturdy and extensiveroot systems. Olive trees can remain productive for centuries as long as they are pruned correctly and regularly.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[131]

Olives are propagated by various methods. The preferred ways are cuttings and layers; the tree roots easily in favourable soil and throws upsuckers from the stump when cut down. However, yields from trees grown from suckers or seeds are poor; they must bebudded orgrafted onto other specimens to do well.^[132] Branches of various thickness cut into lengths around1 m (3+1⁄2 ft) planted deeply inmanured 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.^{[citation needed]}

The olive is also sometimes grown from seed. To facilitategermination, the oily pericarp is first softened by slight rotting, or soaked in hot water or in an alkaline solution.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[133] However, new shoots appeared in the spring and, once the dead wood was removed, became the basis for new fruit-producing trees.^{[citation needed]}

Olives grow very slowly, and over many years, the trunk can attain a considerable diameter.A. P. de Candolle recorded one exceeding 10 m (33 ft) in girth. The trees rarely exceed 15 m (50 ft) 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.^{[citation needed]}

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 inLiguria,Languedoc, andProvence, 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. The spaces between the trees are regularly fertilized.^{[citation needed]}

Variouspathologies can affect olives. The most serious pest is theolive fruit fly (Dacus oleae orBactrocera 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 bacteriumBacillus thuringiensis, and spraying withkaolin. Such methods are obligatory for organic olives.^{[citation needed]}

Afungus,Cycloconium oleaginum, can infect the trees for several successive seasons, causing great damage to plantations. A species of bacterium,Pseudomonas savastanoi pv.oleae,^[134] induces tumour growth in the shoots. Certainlepidopterouscaterpillars feed on the leaves and flowers.Xylella fastidiosa bacteria, which can also infect citrus fruit and vines, has attacked olive trees inApulia, southern Italy, causingolive quick decline syndrome (OQDS).^{[135][136][137]} The main vector isPhilaenus spumarius (meadow spittlebug).^[138]

A pest that spreads through olive trees is the black scale bug, a small blackscale 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. Thecurculio beetle eats the edges of leaves, leaving sawtooth damage.^[139]

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 also do damage by eating the roots. At the northern edge of their cultivation zone, for instance in northern Italy, southern France andSwitzerland, olive trees suffer occasionally from frost.^[140] Gales and long-continued rains during the gathering season also cause damage. In the colder Mediterranean hinterland, olive cultivation is replaced by other fruits, typically thechestnut.^[141]

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 byferal plants.^[142]

In some other parts of the world where it has been introduced, most notablySouth Australia, the olive has become a majorweed that displaces native vegetation. In South Australia, its seeds are spread by the introducedred fox and by many bird species, including theEuropean starling and the nativeemu, into woodlands, where they germinate and eventually form a dense canopy that prevents regeneration of native trees.^[143] As the climate of South Australia is very dry and bushfire prone, the oil-rich feral olive tree substantially increases the fire hazard of nativesclerophyll woodlands.^[144]

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[145] 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.^[115]

The amount of oil contained in the fruit differs greatly by cultivar; thepericarp is usually 60–70% oil. Typical yields are 1.5–2.2 kg (3 lb 5 oz – 4 lb 14 oz) of oil per tree per year.^[90]

Olives are one of the most extensively cultivated fruit crops in the world.^[146] In 2011, about 9.6 million hectares (24 million acres) were planted with olive trees, which is more than twice the amount of land devoted toapples,bananas, ormangoes. Onlycoconut trees andoil palms command more space.^[147] Cultivation area tripled from 2.6 to 7.95 million hectares (6.4 to 19.6 million acres) between 1960 and 1998 and reached a peak of 10 million hectares (25 million acres) in 2008. Olive production in the Mediterranean region has declined since 2019 due to climate, economic and political factors. The 10 most-producing countries, according to theFood and Agriculture Organization, are all located in the Mediterranean region and produce 95% of the world's olives.^[148] In Italy, cultivation of olive trees is widespread in the south, counting for three quarters of its production. Due to the climate, it is less abundant in the north of Italy, although growth has increased, particularly in the more temperatemicroclimates ofLiguria and the hills aroundLake Garda. Approximately 170 million plants distributed over 1 million farms.^[149]

One hundred grams of cured green olives provide 146calories, are a rich source ofvitamin E (25% of theDaily Value, DV), and contain a large amount ofsodium (104% DV); other nutrients are insignificant. Green olives are 75%water, 15%fat, 4%carbohydrates and 1%protein (table).

Thepolyphenol 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.^[153] In raw fruit, total polyphenol contents, as measured by theFolin method, are 117 mg/100 g in black olives and 161 mg/100 g in green olives, compared to 55 and 21 mg/100 g for extra virgin and virgin olive oil, respectively.^[153] Olive fruit contains several types of polyphenols, mainlytyrosols,phenolic acids,flavonols andflavones, and for black olives,anthocyanins. The main bitter flavor of olives before curing results fromoleuropein andits 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.^[153]

During the crushing, kneading and extraction of olive fruit to obtain olive oil, oleuropein,demethyloleuropein andligstroside arehydrolyzed by endogenousbeta-glucosidases^[154] to formaldehydes,dialdehydes, and aldehydicaglycones.^[155] 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.^[155][156]

Olive tree pollen is extremely allergenic, with anOPALS allergy scale rating of 10 out of 10.^[157]Olea europaea is primarily wind-pollinated^[158] and its buoyant pollen is a strong trigger for asthma.^[157] One popular variety, "Swan Hill", is widely sold as an "allergy-free" olive tree; however, this variety does bloom and produce allergenic pollen.^[157]

• List of olive cultivars
• Moria (tree)
• Olive skin

• Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture; Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN):Olea europaea
• Most Common Spanish Olea Trees, Ginart Oleas