The olive (Olea europaea L.), together with the fig and the date, is one of the oldest fruit trees in the Mediterranean area (Zohary and Spiegel-Roy, 1975). The species, originating in the eastern part of the Mediterranean basin, belongs to the genus Olea, which is one of over 30 genera of the Oleaceae family. The basic chromosome number of the genus Olea is 2n=46 (x=23). Although the genus comprises some 60 species distributed over most of Africa, the warmest zones of Europe, South Asia, Central America, South Australia and New Zealand, the O. europaea is typical of the Mediterranean area. Although several different classifications of Olea europaea are reported, it is generally accepted that the Euro-Mediterranean domesticated olive includes a wild type (O. europaea subsp. oleaster) and a cultivated form (O. europaea subsp. saliva Hoffin. et Link = O. europaea subsp. europaea). The oleaster is a shrub producing small bitter-tasting fruit with low oil content. In addition to olive and oleaster, the term “olevaster” is also widely used to refer to domesticated escapes (Lavee, 1996).
CITATION STYLE
Lambardi, M., & Rugini, E. (2003). MICROPROPAGATION OF OLIVE (Olea europaea L.) (pp. 621–646). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0125-0_21
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