The Grossane is a

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

s grown primarily in the

Vallée des Baux Les Baux-de-Provence (; "Les Baux of Provence"; Provençal: ''Lei Bauç de Provença'' or ''Li Baus de Prouvènço'' ), commonly referred to simply as Les Baux, is a rural commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Cô ...

and

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( ; , ; ; "the Mouths of the Rhône") is a Departments of France, department in southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var (department), Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the sout ...

regions of southern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Though it can be used to produce

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

, it is primarily used as a black table olive. Vulnerable to certain biological

pests PESTS was an anonymous American activist group formed in 1986 to critique racism, tokenism, and exclusion in the art world. PESTS produced newsletters, posters, and other print material highlighting examples of discrimination in gallery represent ...

, it is highly resistant to cold and drought.

Extent

The Grossane is particularly common in the

and

regions of southern

. It can also be found as far away as

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Synonyms

This cultivar is not known under any synonyms, though the spelling differs somewhat locally (Groussan, Grossanne).

Characteristics

It is a cultivar of middle strength, with a spreading

growth form Plant life-form schemes constitute a way of classifying plants alternatively to the ordinary species-genus-family scientific classification. In colloquial speech, plants may be classified as trees, shrubs, herbs (forbs and graminoids), etc. The sci ...

and

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

of lanceolate shape and medium length and width. The olives are of high weight, ovoid shape and slightly asymmetrical. The stone has a rounded apex and a pointed base, with a rough surface and a

mucro The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...

. The Grossane an intermediate cultivar in terms of flowering and ripening. When fully mature, the colour of the fruit is black.

Processing

Though a dual use cultivar, the Grossane is primarily used as a table olive. The black olives have a sweet taste, and the fruit is freestonethe stone does not cling to the flesh. It can also be used for the extraction of

, but it gives a poor yield, and the oil has a short shelf-life. The oil is said to have a "delicate flavor with a citrus aroma and slight fruitiness", while others compare it to

tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...

es.

Agronomy

Its productivity is only intermediate, but this can be improved by the use of

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

and

fertilization Fertilisation or fertilization (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences), also known as generative fertilisation, syngamy and impregnation, is the fusion of gametes to give ...

. The Grossane has poor rooting ability, and is often

grafted Grafting or graftage is a horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion () while the lower part is called the rootstock. The succ ...

. It is self-sterile, and needs other

pollinator A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female carpel, stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insects are ...

s. Cultivars used for pollination are the Boutellian and Aglandau. It has low resistance to certain biological

, such as the

olive fruit fly The olive fruit fly (''Bactrocera oleae'') is a species of fruit fly which belongs to the subfamily Dacinae. It is a phytophagous species whose larvae feed on the fruit of olive trees, hence the common name. It is considered a serious pest in t ...

, ''

Bactrocera oleae The olive fruit fly (''Bactrocera oleae'') is a species of fruit fly which belongs to the subfamily Dacinae. It is a phytophagous species whose larvae feed on the fruit of olive trees, hence the common name. It is considered a serious pest in t ...

'' and

sooty mould Sooty mold (also spelled sooty mould) is a collective term for different Ascomycete fungi, which includes many genera, commonly ''Cladosporium'' and ''Alternaria''. It grows on plants and their fruit, but also environmental objects, like fences, ...

s. On the other hand, it has high tolerance to cold and drought.

References

{{Olives Olive cultivars