The decorative Olive tree and branch items can provide essential and artful design touch for indoor or outdoor projects. Olive trees, of course, are the source of Olive oil, a staple in kitchens throughout the world. As such, the elements of Olive trees and branches can provide a familiar look and feel while suggesting hints of the Mediterranean.
Common Name: Olive
Decorative Olive Tree & Branch Terms: Black, Mediterranean, Autumn, Russian, Wild, Oleaster, American, Fragrant, Manzanillo, Lucca, Mission, Barouni, etc...
Decorative Olive Description
The genus Olive belongs to the family Oleaceae. There are hundreds of types of Olive trees. The Olive tree is an attractive evergreen that can grow 30' - 50' tall and 30' wide. Usually, though, the tree grows shorter - 20' tall x 20' wide. Olives grow very slowly, over many years, and their trunks can attain a large diameter. They are solid, and both drought and fire-resistant. The older the Olive tree, the more gnarled and twisted its trunk appears. Olive tree branches grow opposite one another, with grayish-green leaves that have a silvery underside, and are replaced every two to three years. All of these characteristics can be replicated with decorative Olive branches and trees and can have a significant effect on the look and feel of an interior and exterior decor.
The Olive fruit is a green drupe (a fleshy type of fruit with a single hard stone that encloses a seed), that is generally blackish-purple when fully ripe. A few varieties though are green when ripe, then turn a shade of copper brown. Some Olive fruits are harvested when the Olives are green for one purpose and then allowed to turn brown-black for other purposes. The fruits vary considerably in size, shape, oil-content, and flavor. Raw Olives contain nitrogen found in plants that makes them very bitter, though a few varieties are sweet enough to be eaten after drying in the sun. The Olive requires a long, hot growing season to properly ripen the fruit and are harvested in the autumn and winter, usually by shaking the bough of the whole tree.
Decorative Olive Geography
The Olive tree is native to the coastal areas of the Mediterranean region, central Asia, and various parts of Africa. Olive trees show a preference for chalky soils and coastal climate conditions. They grow in any light soil; even on clay if well-drained. Olives like hot weather and tolerate drought well thanks to their sturdy and extensive root system. Olives also thrive in a climate of mild winters and rainy summers. With this in mind, black Olive tree and branches decor can provide a distinct feeling of being in a faraway land or on the seaside.
Decorative Olive Uses
Over time the artificial Olive trees has been cultivated for Olive oil, wood, and Olive fruit. The Olives are usually cured and eaten, after being pitted or stuffed, and packed in jars, then sometimes preserved in wine and vinegar. Olives are also now being looked at as a renewable energy source, using waste that is produced from the plant as an energy source. It claims that the smoke released has no negative impact on the environment, and the ashes left in the stove can be used for fertilizing gardens and plants. Funny, Olives themselves are now widely used as decoration.
