Description
Olea europea or olive tree is a perennial, long standing tree that can reach up to 15 meters in height, it has a thick crown and trunk often twisted and short. Its bark is slightly fissured, often grey or silver in color. Opposed leaves from 2 to 8 cm long, slightly pointed apex, full and leathery. Opposite leaves, 2-8 cm long, lanceolate and darker in the beam, paler and highly scaly on the underside, more or less sessile or with very short gray green petiole. Its flowers are bisexual or polygamous with white corolla.
The fruit, the olive, is a succulent and very oily drupe from 1 to 3.5 cm long, ovoid or rounded, green in its bottom, which requires a year to turn purple-black when it is fully mature. Its flowering period occurs between May and July in the northern hemisphere and from November to January in the southern hemisphere , while its fruiting period takes place between September and December in the northern hemisphere and from March to June in the southern hemisphere . From this fruit very appreciated oil in gastronomy is obtained.