Green olives are picked before they are ripe, and black olives when they are ripe. Black olives are on the tree longer than green ones.

The green olive has a firmer texture than the black olive. Green olives must be stored in brine so they will not taste bitter.

According to the California Rare Fruit Growers, olive seeds more than 8,000 years old have been found in Spain. Olives were cultivated in Crete and Syria before the Greeks and Romans grew them. In the 1700s, olive growing came to California, where five varieties (Manzanillo, Sevillano, Mission, Ascolano and Barouni) currently are grown. In addition to the olive production in California, some olives are grown in the Phoenix area.

The olive tree is an evergreen that can grow to 50 feet. Trees may live to be 500 years old. Like the peach, the olive is a drupe, a fruit with a single large stone.

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