History Of Olive Trees
Author: Pat Malcolm

Olive trees, 'Olea europaea,' are the oldest fruit trees and
certainly are one of the most important fruit trees in history.
Olive tree culture has been closely connected to the rise and
fall of Mediterranean empires and other advanced civilizations
throughout the ages. Because olive trees offered wealth and
future food supplies to established civilizations, the
agricultural nations became stable societies, resulting from a
secure expectation from past experience of an uninterrupted
food and olive oil supply. This factor was a necessary
requirement for population growth and increase. Dependable
fruit production and olive oil production means that olive
trees must exist in a stable society and a peaceful
environment. That stability must extend for many years, since
most ancient seedling olive trees required eight or more years
before ever producing the first crop of fruit. Productive
orchards of olive trees meant that a foundation of the great
empires of Greece and Rome had arisen and developed into
complex economic and political forces. It is interesting to
note that the historical decline of these empires corresponded
to the destruction of their olive tree orchards that reduced
the available supplies of olives, olive oil, olive wood, and
olive soap. In connection with the destruction of olive
orchards, it is interesting to note that in the Israeli wars
with Palestine, 50,000 olive trees were destroyed by Israeli
bulldozers. That act of agricultural destruction resulted in
considerable anger and unrest along the Gaza strip and the West
Bank, because the economic livelihood of many Palestinian
farmers depended on their products from the uprooted olive
trees. Additionally, the olive tree was historically a 'peace
and goodwill' symbol, and when the olive trees were leveled
near the city of Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus and the
"Cradle of Biblical History," that elimination of olive trees
seemed like a deliberate provocation to end the 'peace' with
the Palestinian settlers and farmers.

The Greeks recognized that in their vast empire they must avoid
hostilities and war during the period that the Olympic Games
were being conducted, and they declared a worldwide armistice
so that their complete attention could be directed toward their
athletic events and games.

Medical properties of olive oil were reported by many ancient
Greek writers and philosophers, their importance in creating
nutritional benefits and wealth for Greek citizens continues
abundantly today--some Greek olive tree orchards containing a
million or more trees. Aristotle wrote extensively about the
accepted methods of successfully growing olive trees.

Greek mythology records that Athena, the Goddess of wisdom and
peace, struck her magic spear into the Earth, and it turned
into an olive tree, thus, the location where the olive tree
appeared and grew was named Athens, Greece, in honor of the
Goddess, Athena. Local legend tells us that the original olive
tree still stands growing after many centuries at the ancient
sacred site. Citizens still claim that all Greek olive trees
originated from rooted cuttings that were grown from that
original olive tree. Homer claimed in his writings that the
ancient olive tree growing in Athens was already 10,000 years
old. Homer stated that Greek courts sentenced people to death
if they destroyed an olive tree. In 775 BC Olympia, Greece, at
the site of the ancient Olympic stadium, athletes competed and
trained, and winners were triumphantly acclaimed and crowned
with a wreath made of olive twigs. Ancient gold coins that were
minted in Athens depicted the face of the Goddess, Athena,
wearing an olive leaf wreath on her helmet holding a clay
vessel of olive oil. The Greeks began olive cultivation in 700
BC. The sacred lamp that was used in ancient Greek culture for
lighting dark rooms at night was fueled by olive oil. Aged
olive oil was also used in sacred anointing rituals of the
church at weddings and at baptisms. Herodotus wrote in 500 BC,
that the growing and exporting of olives and olive oil were so
sacred that only virgins and eunuchs were allowed to cultivate
orchards of olive trees. The first documented plantings of
olive trees may have occurred during the Minoan civilization on
the island of Crete and are believed to have been growing around
3500 BC. That civilization predates the discovered Mycenae olive
fossils from 1600 BC and later in the Greek empire. Sturt
Manning, an archeologist from Cornell University, reported in
Live Science Magazine (Apr 28, 2005) that the most devastating
volcano in 10,000 years occurred on the Greek Island of Thera,
after which the city of Akrotiri was totally buried by the
falling ash. The finding of olive wood and olive seed fossils
buried near the site has shown through carbon dating that the
volcanic eruption occurred between 1660 and 1600 BC and may
have contributed to the total destruction of the advanced
Minoan civilization (Atlantis) on the isle of Crete and may
have led to the formation of the Sahara desert in North Africa
after vaporizing the native forests there.

In the Old Testament of the Hebrew Bible (Gen 8:11), Noah was
given an olive branch by a dove after the great flood as a
symbol of peace and love of God, which it remains today. In the
book of Exodus, Moses explains that God expected olive oil to be
used in various rituals that were performed by priests of
Israel. Olive oil was used as an anointing oil to be poured
over the heads of Kings and priests that acknowledged their
authority as an agent of God. Many other references to olives
are given in the Bible. Psalms 52:8 "But I am like the green
olive tree in the house of God, I trust in the steadfast love
of God forever and ever." Finally, Jesus was to spend his last
day praying at the mount of olives garden of Gethsemane, in
Jerusalem before his crucifixion. Jesus was arrested there,
tried, convicted, crucified and later ascended to heaven, after
his resurrection from the tomb.

Impressionist artists were stunned by the antique age and
beauty of olive trees and their productiveness that resulted in
masterpiece paintings by Van Gogh, Cezanne, Renoir, and Matisse.
The world's great Biblical reporters, literary writers, and
poets immortalized the olive tree, such people as Jesus,
Milton, Shakespeare, and Lord Byron.

Thomas Jefferson wrote "The olive tree is the richest gift of
heaven." The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has reported
"Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, who traveled abroad,
brought plant material such as olive trees and rice back to the
U.S. to develop United States agricultural production." Thomas
Jefferson was the U.S. ambassador to France during the
Revolutionary War, and he began to import olive trees and seeds
into the southern U.S. The excessive humidity of South Carolina
and Georgia did not allow profitable olive tree orchards to
develop properly in those areas. Jefferson wrote "The greatest
service which can be rendered to any country is to add a useful
plant to its culture." He ranked his introduction of the olive
tree and dry rice into South Carolina as two of his top
lifetime achievements. Thomas Jefferson wrote to James
Ronaldson on January 13, 1813, "it is now twenty-five years
since I sent them (southern planters) two shipments of about
500 plants of the olive tree of Aix, the finest olive trees in
the world."

The fragrant flowers of olive trees are small and creamy white,
hidden within the thick leaves. Some cultivars will self
pollinate, but others will not. The blossoms usually begin
appearing in April and can continue for many months. A wild,
seedling olive tree normally begins to flower and produce fruit
at the age of 8 years. The fruit of the olive tree is a
purplish-black when completely ripe, but a few cultivars are
green when ripe and some olives turn a color of copper-brown.
The size of the olive fruit is variable, even on the same tree,
and the shape ranges from round to oval with pointed ends. Some
olives can be eaten fresh after sun-drying and the taste is
sweet, but most olive cultivars are bitter and must be treated
by various chemical solutions before developing into edible
olives. If the olives are thinned on the limbs of the trees to
2 or 3 per twig, the ultimate size of the olives will be much
larger. The fruit is gathered in mid October and should be
processed as soon as possible to prevent fermentation and a
decline in quality.

The leaves of olive trees are gray-green and are replaced at
2-3 year intervals during the spring after new growth appears.
Pruning yearly and severely is very important to insure
continued production. The trees have the unproductive limbs
removed, "so that it will be more fruitful" John 15:2. An olive
tree can grow to 50 feet with a limb spread of 30 feet, but most
growers will keep the tree pruned to 20 feet to assure maximum
production. New sprouts and trees will emerge from the olive
tree stump roots, even if the trees are cut down. Some olive
trees are believed to be over a thousand years old, and most
will live to the ripe old age of 500 years.

Olives generally are beaten off trees with poles, harvested
mechanically or by shaking the fruit from the trees onto
canvas. Most ripening olives are removed from the trees after
the majority of the fruit begins to change in color. It is
important to squeeze out the olive oil within a day after
harvesting or else fermentation or decline in flavor and
quality will occur. The olive oil can be consumed or used in
cooking immediately after its collection from the press. Olive
oils are unique and distinct, each brand of olive oil having
its own character, as determined by many factors, like those
unique flavor differences found in fine wines. Prepared
commercial olive oils can vary greatly in aroma, fruit flavor;
whether the taste is, flowery, nutty, delicate, or mild, and
the coloring of olive oil is quite variable.

Olive oil produces many health benefits when used in cooking or
when poured over salads. The use of olive oil can improve
digestion and can benefit heart metabolism through its low
content of cholesterol. Experts claim that olive oil
consumption will cause a person to grow shiny hair, prevent
dandruff, prevent wrinkles, prevent dry skin and acne,
strengthen nails, stop muscle aching, lower blood pressure and
cancel out the effects of alcohol.

Olive trees can survive droughts and strong winds, and they
grow well on well drained soils up to a pH of 8.5 and the trees
can tolerate salt water conditions. In Europe, olive trees are
normally fertilized every other year with an organic
fertilizer. Alternate bearing can be avoided by heavy pruning
and generally the trees respond to this very quickly and
favorably.

Olive trees should be purchased that have been vegetatively
propagated or grafted, because the seed grown trees will revert
to a wild type that yields small olives with an insipid taste.
Olive trees are more resistant to diseases and insects than any
other fruit tree and, therefore, are sprayed less than any other
crop.

The Romans conquered Greece in 146 BC, and the victors took
olive secrets to Rome, but since then Greece has remained the
greatest exporter of olive oil during the centuries. The olive
tree seems to be perfectly adapted for growing in the mild
climate of the Mediterranean countries. The trees grow well in
dry areas with mild winters and long hot summers, even enduring
drought conditions or high winds. The European area of the
Mediterranean produces 98% of the world olive oil supply. Olive
seed are believed to have been brought to California in 1769 to
grow into trees hardy to 12 degrees Fahrenheit. Those olive
trees were cultivated in the Franciscan Spanish monasteries.

Even though commercial production of olives in the United
States is only 2% of the world market, great interest in
growing olives throughout the South has been stimulated by the
recent introduction of promising cold hardy olive trees from
European hybridizers. Many European immigrants to the United
States grow their own olive trees in large pots, that can be
moved in and out of the house during seasonal changes.


About The Author: Patrick A. Malcolm, owner of TyTy Nursery,
has an M.S. degree in Biochemistry and has cultivated fruit
trees for over three decades. http://www.tytyga.com