Olivia Europeana Olive tree (14cm)

The Olive Tree has long been favoured and revered for its various uses from the leaves and edible fruit, although in the UK the likelihood of fruit is greatly decreased to the limited exposure to the sun. The Olive tree is a medium-sized evergreen tree and produces small white blossoms.

These white blossoms are produced in branched racemes, called panicles. The panicles are groupings of loose branches which reach out into different directions. In the right conditions, typical of its origins around the Mediterranean, fruit would follow the normal flowering season in spring. These trees can be grown in grow houses or green houses to produce fruit.

The drupes or olives which are normally produced from this tree turn from green to black as they ripen. The vast majority of the fruit rendered from this tree is used for oil production and approximately 10% of the remaining fruit is left for processing into what are common table olives.

The leaves are duality of colors, with the topside being a delightful green and the underside a silvery-green contrast. As the trees age, their growth and bark often develop a significant amount of character, with each tree developing its own “personality” or growth characteristics.