The olive tree reaches a height of 10 to 40 feet (312 m). It is an evergreen that normally lives 300 to 600 years, although some specimens are well over 2,000 years old. The leaves are oblong, smooth-edged, and one to three inches (2.57.5 cm) long. The fragrant flower clusters, called panicles, are made up of many small, white, four-petaled blossoms, similar to lilac blossoms. The trees are pollinated by the wind.

Olive trees are native to the Mediterranean region, where they have been cultivated for about 5,500 years. They are also grown in California (and, to a lesser extent, Arizona), and in Australia, Africa, and Latin America. The trees are raised from cuttings or grafted to seedlings and planted in orchards. They grow well in dry climates in which the soil is well drained but adequately supplied with water. They require much sunlight and are injured by temperatures below 15 F. (-9 C.). Although olive trees thrive in poor soil, the more fertile the soil, the more fruit they produce.

In Europe, the most serious pests attacking olives are the olive moth and olive fly. In California, black scale, parlatoria scale, and the olive knot are destructive.