One of the most significant is in the tale of Noah and the Flood. The dove, sent out to search for a sign of land and life, returned with none other than an olive branch. The olive is often referred to as a symbol of goodness, purity, and life. It is clear that the olive was an important part of life in the Mediterranean, as is the world over today. Description Olive trees are graceful in appearance, with elegant lanceolate silvery evergreen leaves borne on thin branches with pale gray bark.
Olive trees can attain quite a long life span.
The small flowers are fragrant and creamy white, borne on an inflorescence of 15-30. The trees bear fruit alternately. The common forms of olives seen in an American market are either green or black, but actually these types could be harvested from the same tree. The olive fruit begins white, then changes color gradually as it ripens, moving through green, then reddish, and finally to black with ripeness. Her children are born white and then grow black.