the olive tree

The olive tree is a tree from the Oleaceae family. It isn't very tall. Its trunk is short, thick, irregular, twisted, light gray and full of bumps and cracks, especially as it gets older.

The trunk of the olive tree is very characteristic, because it is irregular, a beautiful example of Aragon. 

The olive leaves are arranged opposite each other, they are a lanceolate shape (tapering to a point at the apex and at the base), up to about 8 cm in length. Its edges are complete and the leaves are attached by a small stalk. The color of the leaf is whitish on the underside which aims to protect it from cold in winter and heat in summer. On the upperside, olive leaf has a bright green color.

Olive leaves have great medicinal properties.

The olive tree flowers (burrs) are very small and are clustered in inflorescences. They have four white petals and a strong fragrance. These petite flowers have the calyx and the corolla in one piece, with very short tube and the limb divided into four lobes.

Olive flowers form clusters and give off much odor. The flowering season is in May.

The olive tree fruits are olives, from which the olive oil, dear to the Mediterranean diet, is extracted. Olives, stone fruit in Latin, are ovoidal which means that there is only one stone inside. Olives have different sizes, depending on the variety from which they come, but usually tend to range between 1.5 and 3 cm. First they are green, but as they mature, they become black.

The olive tree flourishes around the month of May and during the summer and autumn, the fruits gain weight and change color from green to black. The olives are fully grown by early autumn, but its not until late November or December that they begin to be harvested, and later the excellent olive oil, so important in the Mediterranean diet, is extracted.