The Secret Life of an Olive !

It All Starts with a Flower

When you taste olive oil, do you ever think about the flower that gave rise to it?

Probably not.

And yet, a few months before a bottle is filled, the story begins in spring, when the olive tree becomes covered in tiny flowers.

The tree produces thousands of flowers. But only a very small proportion of them will eventually become an olive.

Why? Because the olive tree does not seek to turn all its flowers into fruit. It produces abundantly, then gradually selects what it will be able to nourish.

And for everything to begin, first there must be...

pollen.

The olive tree is anemophilous: its pollen is mainly carried by the wind. No bees are needed for an olive to be born.

A current of air, a receptive flower, compatible pollen... and the story can begin.

Did you know?

The olive tree produces enormous amounts of pollen during flowering, while only a small proportion of its flowers will eventually produce a fruit.

Nature therefore begins this story with abundance... before sorting things out.

The journey in a few steps

Thousands of flowers
→ Pollen travels with the wind
→ A receptive flower
→ And an olive can be born

Next week:

What happens when a grain of pollen reaches a flower?