Olea europaea (olive)

Japanese name: オリーブ
Scientific name: Olea europaea

[Overview]
An evergreen tree, with some cultivated varieties exceeding 10 m in height.
It is said to have originated in Asia Minor, the eastern Mediterranean coast and North Africa, and is an important fruit tree that has been cultivated since ancient times.
The leaves are simple and opposite, borne in a cross pattern, narrowly elliptic to lanceolate, 4–8 cm long, with entire margins.
The upper surface of the leaf is dark green and glossy, and the underside is tinged silvery white.
In early June, 10–30 flowers are borne in panicles in the leaf axils.
The flowers are small, about 3 mm across, cream-colored and bell-shaped.
The corolla is usually 4-lobed.
The fruits are mostly egg-shaped to elliptic and ripen to a blackish purple.

[History]
It is one of the earliest plants to be used, and is said to have been cultivated on Crete around 3,000 BC.
In Japan, it began when saplings were obtained from France in the 1860s.

[Uses]
The fruits are eaten, for example pickled in salt, and the olive oil extracted from the fruits is used for food and cosmetics.

[Cultivation]
Propagate by grafting and cuttings.
It prefers sunny, well-drained soil containing lime, and although it tolerates dryness, it grows better when given sufficient water.
To make it bear fruit, it helps to give plenty of lime.
Mature trees do not transplant well, so when transplanting a grown tree, it is often cut straight across the trunk (sundo-giri) to make it sprout again.
Near Tokyo, it grows well if given protection from the cold in the winter of the year it is planted.
Outside warm regions, protection from the cold is essential when the tree is young.

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