Olea europea - Olive Tree Seeds

Description

The olive tree (scientific name Olea europaea L.) is a tree in the oleaceae family.[1] The olive tree produces olives, which are used to make olive oil. It has little height and twisted trunk, being native to the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, as well as the north of present-day Iran at the southern end of the Caspian Sea. The tree and its fruits give their name to the family of plants that also include species such as lilac and jasmine. Its name comes from the Latin olive, which in turn comes from the Greek ???? (elea), ultimately from Mycenaean Greek e-ra-wa (elaiva) or oil. From its fruit, the olives, humans at the end of the Neolithic period learned to extract oil. This oil was used as an ointment, fuel or food, and for all these uses, it became a tree venerated by different peoples.[1]

The Minoan Civilization, which flourished on the island of Crete until 1500 BC, thrived on the trade in olive oil, which it first learned how to cultivate. The Greeks, who possibly inherited the olive tree cultivation techniques from the Minoans, associated the tree with strength and life. The olive tree is also mentioned in the Bible in several passages, both the tree and its fruits.

The longevity of olive trees is great. Some of the olive trees in Israel are estimated to be over 2,500 years old. In Santa Iria de Azoia, Portugal, there is an olive tree that is 2,850 years old.