Olive Tree

A flowering tree that grows olives. It is one of the most used fruit bearing trees in agriculture. The olive tree is originally from the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea where it is still grown the most. In the modern day it can be found in many parts of the world. Olive tree dryads used to be one of the most powerful and influential ancestries in the Mediterranean. This changed many centuries ago when these dryads were nearly wiped out by a great effort of Catholic Church, the Hunter's Guild and other entities to eradicate the devils of the olives. This campaign was not fully successful and many dryads survived as seedling or in sanctuaries. Since then these seedlings have been planted all around the world. It is possible to find olive trees bonded to a dryad in the unlikeliest places.

Geographic Distribution

The olive tree is native to the Mediterranean region and covers millions of hectares of agricultural land. Since then they have been transplanted to many regions in the world with Mediterranean climate and sometimes even with temperate climate like such as South Africa, Chile, Peru, Pakistan, Australia, Oregon, California, New Zealand and parts of Argentina. Some small bonded olive tree sanctuaries can even be found in less favorable climates like Northeastern America, Mongolia, Northern Japan and Iceland.

Usage

The olive tree is cultivated for its wood, leaves, as decoration and olives. Around 90% of all olives are turned into olive oil and the rest are used as table olives to be eaten. Most olive cultivars are used for one or the other, but some can be used for both.

Growth & Development

A olive tree can grow from seeds, grafts and even dead trees. They are a slow growing tree and take many years to develop. A olive tree usually bears fruit for the first time after two to five years. From there it can take another five to eight years to develop a full harvest of olives. It takes another sixty to eighty years for the fruit cycle to become stable. Then the trees can bear fruit for many centuries. The oldest known trees to still bear fruit are over two thousand years old.

Bonded Tree

An olive tree bonded with a dryad has a supernatural aura that calms down the emotions of any creatures close by. It is a defense mechanism to protect the tree from aggression and violence. It affects all emotions including fear, hatred, love and anger. It is very beneficial and can be therapeutic to meditate under an olive tree. Olive tree dryads are welcomed to many temple gardens and other places of reflection to utilize this effect.
Scienctific Classification
Olea europaea
Materials
Wood


Cover image: Olive trees by Kallerna

Comments

Author's Notes

  • Wikipedia (Olive)

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    Aug 6, 2022 15:50

    Nice and brief, mixing in the real world information with the bits about dryads is well done.

    Check out some of my summer camp articles, like the dangerous flying jackalope or dragon wasps. Or, for something more light-hearted, there is the whimsical language Gobbledygook and Jaden's interesting job as a guano polisher.
    Aug 7, 2022 15:00

    Thank you!

    Check out my world World Behind the Veil!