Common Variety

• Olea europaea is the most common variety of olives. This evergreen with silver green leaves is native to the Mediterranean region, Asia and parts of Africa but can also be grown in California, Arizona and Florida. Known for its gnarled trunk, O. europaea can grow to heights of 50 feet and can live 500 or more years.
  
  

Related Species

• Two related species of olive trees include wild olive (Olea africana) and oleaster (O. europaea var. oleaster). The subspecies O. africana is grown in South Africa and produces a small fruit that turns purple-black when ripe. Oleaster, or Russian olive, is a common tree of the Pacific Northwest, although not native.
  
  

Distant Relatives

• The American olive (Osmanthus americana) and fragrant olive (Osmanthus fragrans) trees are distant relatives of O. europaea. O. americana, also called devil wood, is found in the Carolinas and farther south. Debate exists whether fruit of this variety is edible. The fragrant olive is native to Asia, where its leaves are used to make tea.