CROATIAN FLORA, The Old Olive Tree on Brijuni

The olive tree (Olea europaea L.), from the olive family (Oleaceae), is an evergreen shrub or tree with a branched crown, growing up to 10 meters tall. The bark is grey-green and smooth until about the tenth year, after which it becomes knotted, wrinkled, deeply furrowed, and takes on a dark, almost black color, becoming firm and resistant even to decay. The olive tree’s root system is generally shallow, penetrating only 90–120 cm into the soil. The leaves are opposite, entire, leathery, ovate-lanceolate or elliptical in shape, with blunt or pointed tips, averaging 2–8 cm in length. The upper surface of the leaf is dark to light green, while the underside is silvery-grey. The flowers are small, bisexual, white-greenish in color, and appear clustered in panicles. During flowering, from April to June, they emit a characteristic fragrance. The fruit is a fleshy drupe, oval in shape, which begins developing in summer and reaches maturity around September, with some cultivars changing color from yellow or red to dark purple or black. Olive trees begin bearing fruit after seven years, with peak yields reached only after about twenty years. The Old Olive Tree on Brijuni reaches a height of 6 meters and has a canopy diameter of 26 meters. Its age has been scientifically confirmed using radiocarbon (C14) dating. Analysis of a wood sample determined that the tree is over 1,600 years old, meaning it dates back to the Roman era. As one of the oldest olive trees in the entire Mediterranean, it is the sole remaining witness to what was once an extensive olive grove. The tree’s turbulent history is visible in its structure; particularly notable is a storm in the 1970s that caused the trunk to split into two parts. Despite its great age, the olive tree still produces around 30 kg of fruit each October, yielding approximately 5 liters of extra virgin olive oil. Mirela Uzelac Božac, mag. oecol. Assistant at the Institute of Agriculture and Tourism, Poreč