Olive

Olea europaea – Olive

Tree Description

Olives keep their leaves all year long. This twig was captured at the start of winter, hanging on to its dark-green leaves and ripe fruit. The leaves are a shiny dark-green on top, and a contrasting bright and matte green on the bottom. Because of the strong upward growth, this bright underside is very visible.

Olive trees are very close relatives of ash trees, and grow very similar but much slower and smaller. Originating from the Mediterranean, the prefer a dry and warm climate. Olives can get to about 10-15 meters tall, but they rarely get the chance. Frequent human pruning keeps the fruit reachable and increases production. Don’t be afraid to prune your olive, this creates the rugged old look. Olives can live for thousands of years.

To grow an olive tree, start with the closely related ash preset. Then scale the simulation down to 0.8 and increase the twig density. To get the typical shape of olives grown in orchards, you will have to prune the tree repeatedly, every 5 years or so. Be brutal with pruning, the olive will recover. The constant pruning is done to keep the olives within reach, and it creates the disproportionally thick trunk.