EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Ancient Olive Trees of Djerba Island

Olive Tree (Olea europaea), Family Oleaceae
Djerba Island, Tunisia

Explanation:  What is special about these stunted, gnarled, twisted trees?  

This week, we have landed on Djerba Island, on the east central Mediterranean coast of Tunisia, North Africa.  Lining a roadway to the cultural site of the small Jewish quarter of El Ghriba, in Erriadh, are these striking trees, looking like they have been through major stressful environmental changes over many years.  

But these are the icons of the country:  olive trees.  The olive oil industry of Tunisia is vital to the country's economy, with olive oil constituting some 10% of the country's total agricultural production and 40% of agricultural exports mostly to the EU, to Italy and Spain.  Olive oil was first produced in Tunisia in the 8th century BC (BCE), so it is a rich and amazingly ancient heritage.  One source notes that olive trees are the oldest known cultivated tree in history.   

So what about these trees?  Their gnarled appearance is a sign of age: very old age.  Old growth.  They may exceed 900, perhaps 1,000 years old, based on planting records and on the knowledge that ancient olive trees do warp and gnarl about, and the trunks commonly split, as shown in the main photos above.  Yes, each photo is a single, spit-trunk tree.  

The oldest known olive tree in the north of the country apparently even dates back to the ancient Phoenician era, and shows the classic signs of warping, splitting, and spreading.  

And across vast landscapes of Tunisia and beyond, in North Africa, stretch modern plantations of olive trees, providing the countries with its vital, ongoing economic resources.

Typical, vast olive tree plantation, here in the arid interior
of Tunisia between Tozeur and Kairouan.

  

Valley of olive tree plantations as seen from the
ruins of the ancient Roman city of Dougga, northwest Tunisia.
  

And I will provide my personal testimonial to the wonderful addition of rich olive oil to the dining table there.  Dip the bread, and salute the countless generations of olive tree farmers and custodians!  

Acknowledgment:
     My deep thanks to our Overseas Adventure Travel personal guide, Mr. Anas Abouda, for leading us to these special sites, explaining the site importance and the conditions of the tree ages and structures, and providing me with follow-up information on site names.  Very much appreciated, Anas!