Morrocan Jews recommended olive oil to ease joint pains. Coughing babies were given a mixture of olive oil and honey. Iraqi Jews believed that a daily tablespoon of olive oil prevented headaches, loss of appet ite, sleeplessness, and digestive ailments. A daily spoonful prevented the flu. Green throughout the year, olive trees are a popular source of shade.
Olive trees bloom in the spring and early summer, bearing small white flowers.
All olive buds start out green. As they ripen, some remain green, while others turn purple, red and black. The fruit is harvested in the autumn, between October and December. At Moshav Bnei Darom , a communal agricultural settlement of the National Religious Movement, the olive industry is booming. Most of the olives are harvested from trees grown south of the moshav in the desert and irrigated with 10,000 year old underground well-water.