Description

_Olea europaea_ is the common olive tree — the same one that gives us olives and olive oil.

*Quick facts:*

– *Type*: Slow-growing evergreen tree or large shrub with a rounded crown and often twisted, gnarled trunk as it ages
– *Leaves*: Narrow, lance-shaped, gray-green on top and silvery underneath. That silvery underside makes the whole tree shimmer in the sun

– *Flowers & fruit*:

Small, creamy-white, lightly fragrant flowers in late spring to early summer. These turn into oval fruits, olives, that ripen from green to purplish-black
– *Size*: Usually 20-30 ft tall and wide in good conditions, but grows slower and stays smaller in poor soils or coastal sites. Can reach 4.5-9m tall
– *Lifespan*:

Famously long-lived. Some Mediterranean olives are believed to be over 1,000 years old and still producing. There are claims of 1,600-year-old trees still fruiting
– *Native to*: Mediterranean region, northern Africa, and western Asia. It thrives in hot, dry summers and mild,

*Why people grow it:*
1. *Olives & olive oil*: Main commercial use. Homer called olive oil “liquid gold”
2. *Landscaping*: Loved for its architectural twisted trunk, silvery foliage, drought tolerance, and low-maintenance needs. It’s evergreen and does well in full sun with little water
3. *Symbolism*: Ancient symbol of peace, wealth, and victory. Olive wreaths crowned Olympic victors in ancient Greece

It’s in the Oleaceae family and needs about 2 months of 40-50°F winter temps to flower and fruit well. f

There’s also a wild subspecies, _Olea europaea_ subsp. _cuspidata_, called wild or African olive, which is the ancestor of the cultivated olive.