fermentacja: Olive

Evidence: 100 • authority: 72

The cultivated olive (botanical name Olea europaea subsp. europaea) is a subspecies of subtropical evergreen tree in the family Oleaceae. Modern cultivars are traced primarily to the Near East, Aegean Sea, and Strait of Gibraltar. Olea europaea is the type species for its genus, Olea, which lends its name to the Oleaceae plant family. The olive fruit is classed botanically as a drupe, similar in structure and function to the cherry or peach. The term oil was originally synonymous with olive oil. The olive has deep historical, economic, and cultural significance in the Mediterranean. It was one of the first fruit trees to be domesticated, being first cultivated in the Eastern Mediterranean b…

Evidence: 73 • authority: 72

The olive is one of the oldest cultivated fruit trees on Earth, and its history is deeply intertwined with humans; it has expanded its range through human activity, reflecting the rise and fall of several civilisations. As a result, the olive has been disseminated well beyond its native range, spanning 28.6 million acres across 66 countries. Fossil evidence indicates that the olive tree had its origins 20–40 million years ago in the Oligocene, in what now corresponds to Italy and the eastern Mediterranean basin. Around 100,000 years ago, olives were used by humans in Africa, on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, for fuel and most probably for consumption. The olive was first cultivated in the M…

Evidence: 27 • authority: 72

One of the major early human migrations was the maritime Austronesian expansion into the islands of the Indo-Pacific, believed to have begun between at least 5500 and 4000 BP (3500 to 2000 BCE). These migrations were accompanied by a set of domesticated, semi-domesticated, and commensal plants and animals transported via outrigger ships and catamarans that enabled the early Austronesian peoples to thrive in the islands of Maritime Southeast Asia, Near Oceania and Remote Oceania, Madagascar, and the Comoro Islands. They include crops and animals believed to have originated from the Hemudu and Majiabang cultures in the theorized pre-Austronesian homelands in China, as well as other plants and…

Evidence: — • authority: 72

Domestication is a multi-generational mutualistic relationship in which an animal species, such as humans or leafcutter ants, takes over control and care of another species, such as sheep or fungi, to obtain from them a steady supply of resources, such as meat, milk, or labor. The process is gradual and geographically diffuse, based on trial and error. Domestication affects genes for behavior in animals, making them less aggressive. In plants, domestication affects genes for morphology, such as increasing seed size and stopping the shattering of cereal seedheads. Such changes both make domesticated organisms easier to handle and reduce their ability to survive in the wild. Terrestrial verte…

Evidence: — • authority: 72

The avocado, alligator pear or avocado pear (Persea americana) is an evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas, with archaeological evidence of early human avocado use dating back thousands of years across various regions of Central and South America. It was prized for its large and unusually oily fruit. The native range of avocado (Persea americana) extends from Mexico to Peru, encompassing much of Central America and parts of northern and western South America. Its fruit is botanically a large berry containing a single large seed. Sequencing of its genome showed that the evolution of avocados was shaped by polyploidy events and that commercial varieties…

Evidence: — • authority: 72

Phoenix dactylifera, commonly known as the date palm, is a flowering-plant species in the palm family Arecaceae, native to the region from the Gulf States and Iraq to Pakistan and India. It is cultivated for its edible sweet fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across northern Africa, the Middle East, Australia, South and Southeast Asia, the coastal Mediterranean basin, and Southern California. It is naturalised in many tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. P. dactylifera is the type species of genus Phoenix, which contains 12–19 species of wild date palms. Date palms reach up to 30 metres (98 ft) in height, growing singly or in clumps with several stems from a single…

Evidence: — • authority: 72

Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of Olea europaea, a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a condiment, or as a salad dressing. It can also be found in some cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, soaps, and fuels for traditional oil lamps. It also has additional uses in some religions. The olive is one of three core food plants in Mediterranean cuisine, with wheat and grapes. Olive trees have been cultivated around the Mediterranean since the 8th millennium BC. In 2022, Spain was the world's largest producer, manufacturing 24% of the world's total. Other large producers were…

Evidence: — • authority: 88

Accessing Ancestral Origin and Diversity Evolution by Net Divergence of an Ongoing Domestication Mediterranean Olive Tree Variety. Olea europaea ‘Galega vulgar’ variety is a blend of West and Central Mediterranean germplasm with cultivated-wild admixture characteristics. ‘Galega vulgar’ is known for its high rusticity and superior-quality olive oil, being the main Portuguese variety with high impact for bioeconomy. Nevertheless, it has been replaced by higher-yielding and more adapted to intensive production foreign varieties. To clarify the potential ancestral origin, genetic diversity evolution, and existing genetic relationships within the national heritage of ‘Galega vulgar’, 595 trees,…