Olive
The original home of the Olive is, probably, Asia Minor and Greece, but it is now abundantly naturalised in many countries, notably in the Mediterranean region. "The Olive is one of the most characteristic and beautiful features of all Southern scenery. On the slopes of the Northern Apennines, Olives are the usual forest timber; the whole of the Val d'Arno is wooded with them, every one of its gardens is filled with them, and they grow, in orchard-like ranks, out of its fields of maize, or corn, or vine, so that it is physically impossible, in most parts of the neighbourhood of Florence, Pistoja, Lucca, or Pisa, to choose any site of landscape which shall not owe its leading character to the foliage of these trees. What the Elm and Oak are to England, the Olive is to Italy. . . . . And here I challenge the untravelled English reader to tell me what an Olive-tree is like? I know he cannot answer my challenge. . . . Now, the main characteristics of an Olive, tree are these: It has sharp and slender leaves, of a greyish-green, nearly grey on the under surface, and resembling, but somewhat smaller than, those of our common Willow. Its fruit, when ripe, is black and lustrous; but, of course, so small that, unless in great quantity, it is not conspicuous on the tree. Its trunk and branches are particularly fantastic in their twisting, showing their fibres at every turn; and the trunk is often hollow, and even rent into many divisions, like separated stems; but the extremities are exquisitely graceful, especially in the setting-on of the leaves; and the notable and characteristic effect of the tree in the distance is of a rounded and soft mass, or ball, of downy foliage" (Ruskin, "Stones of Venice"). The Olive has been cultivated from time immemorial for the sake of the oil, obtained by pressure from the pulp of its fruit. In some countries, this oil forms an important article of food, besides being extensively used in cooking other articles; but in this country its principal use is in salads, &c. Olives for pickling consist of the unripe fruits deprived of a portion of their bitterness by being soaked in water, to which lime and wood ashes are sometimes added; they are then bottled in salt and water, and flavoured with aromatics. Olive branches have for ages been regarded as emblems of peace and plenty.
A large number of varieties are cultivated, and these are propagated by grafting on the Wild Olive stock. See also Olea.