5 Olea europaea ssp. africana - European Olive - Buy Indigenous Tree Seeds in South Africa

Olea europaea ssp. africana

European Olive

The olive is native to the Mediterranean region, tropical and central Asia and various parts of Africa. The olive has a history almost as long as that of Western civilization, its development being one of civilized man's first accomplishments. At a site in Spain, carbon-dating has shown olive seed found there to be eight thousand years old. Olea europaea may have been cultivated independently in two places, Crete and Syria. Archaeological evidence suggests that olives were being grown in Crete as long ago as 2,500 B.C. From Crete and Syria olives spread to Greece, Rome and other parts of the Mediterranean area. The high position held by the Olive tree in ancient as in modern days may be realized when it is remembered that Moses exempted from military service men who would work at its cultivation, and that in Scriptural and classical writings the oil is mentioned as a symbol of goodness and purity, and the tree as representing peace and happiness. The oil, in addition to its wide use in diet, was burnt in the sacred lamps of temples, while the victor in the Olympic Games was crowned with its leaves. Throughout the centuries, the olive tree has represented man's domestication of plants, and symbolized the boundless resources of nature: food from its fruit; light from its oil; peace through its metaphorical connotations.