What are olives like?

Olive is ovoid to spindle-shaped, yellow-green when mature, with thick exocarp, hard stone, sharp end and thick surface of stone. The height can reach 35 meters, and the DBH can reach 150 cm. Leaflets 3-6 pairs, papery to leathery, lateral veins 12- 16 pairs, fruit sequence 1.5- 15 cm, with 1-6 fruits.

Olive inflorescence axillary, slightly tomentose to glabrous, calyx flat, 0.5 cm in diameter, calyx teeth bent outward. The fruit is ovoid to spindle-shaped, nearly round, 2.5-3.5 cm long, hairless, and yellow-green when mature. The stone is tapered, the cross section is round to hexagonal, there is a shallow groove between the obtuse rib angle and the nuclear cover, and the nuclear cover has a slightly convex middle rib, which is shallow outside.

Olive is a famous subtropical fruit tree. Cultivation has a long history, and there are records about olives in the ancient book Qi Yaomin.

Extended data

Olives are native to southern China, and cultivated in Fujian, Taiwan Province, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Japan (Nagasaki, Okinawa) and Malay Peninsula. Wild olives are distributed in canyons and hillside miscellaneous forests below1300m above sea level.

Olives are good windbreaks and street trees. Wood can be used for shipbuilding, sleepers, furniture, farm tools and building materials. Fruit can be eaten raw or pickled, and can be used medicinally to treat laryngitis, hemoptysis, polydipsia, enteritis and diarrhea.

Olive likes warmth, and it needs proper high temperature to grow vigorously during the growing period, with good effect. The annual average temperature is above 20℃, which is most suitable for growing in areas without severe frost and freezing injury in winter. It has wide adaptability to soil, and can be cultivated along rivers, hills, mountains, red and yellow soil and gravel soil, and can grow well as long as the soil layer is deep and well drained. ?

Olives are rich in nutrition. Its pulp contains protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus, iron and other minerals. Moreover, it contains high calcium, is easily absorbed by human body, and is especially suitable for women and children.

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