The olive flower is white and only flowers after four years. |
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Olive trees are harvested for the first time after 15 years. |
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The smallest is known as a ‘bullet’. |
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It takes 5 kilos of olives to make one litre of olive oil. |
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The largest type of olive is called a ‘Atlas’. |
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The world consumes about 2.25 million tonnes of olive oil a year. |
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The average life of an olive tree is between 300 and 600 years. |
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The oldest certified olive tree is more than 2000 years old. |
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An olive branch appears on the national flags of seven nations, four US states and the flag of the United Nations. |
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One city and three towns in the United States are called ‘Olive Branch’. |
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Olive branches (2,550 of them) were used at the 2004 Olympics Games in Athens when the tradition of crowning Olympians with an olive spray was revived. |
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Olives are rich in Vitamin E and ‘good fat’. |
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Your five daily portions of fruit can include 16 olives, which make one portion. |
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In Greek mythology the goddess Athena gave the olive tree as a gift to the city of Athens. |
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At the games at Olympia, a wreath of olive leaves was the prize. |
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In early Greek and Hebrew cultures, it was a capital crime to destroy an olive tree. |
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For centuries, the olive branch has represented a symbol of peace. |
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The first vegetation brought back by a dove to Noah after the flood was a branch from an olive tree. |