Olive

Olive Overview

A small genus of small to medium evergreen trees, native to parts of the Middle East, southern Europe, Africa, southern Asia, and Australasia, where they are found in warm temperate and tropical zones. They have silver-green leathery, simple leaves in opposite pairs and small white flowers appear in summer, followed by ovoid fruits known as drupes (olives) – a fleshy outer layer surrounding a hard seed. Their trunks become twisted and gnarled with age. O. europaea, the common olive, is the most widely cultivated species in this genus, grown for its fruits that are also used to make olive oil. Olive trees are being threatened by the bacterial Xylella disease that has spread to several countries. take care to purchase from a safe and reliable source. Fruits are rarely produced in the UK on these trees.