The Picholine is a French

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. It is the most widely available cultivar in France. Though originally from

Gard Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019;cocktail A cocktail is a mixed drink, usually alcoholic beverage, alcoholic. Most commonly, a cocktail is a combination of one or more liquor, spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as juices, flavored syrups, tonic water, Shrub (drink), shrubs, and ...

olive, though it is also used to make

olive oil Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a cond ...

. It is the most common variety of olive used for oil from Morocco.

Extent

The Picholine olive is originally from the region of

Gard Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019;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 ...

. Even though it is today most common in

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

and other parts of France and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, it is also grown in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and other places around the world.

Synonyms

The Picholine has many different names of local variety. In Gard and southern France it is referred to as Coiasse, Colliasse, Piquette, Plant de Collias, Fausse Lucques (false Lucques) or Lucques Batarde (bastard Lucques). In Tunisia is it called Judoleine, while in other countries it is often named Picholine de Languedoc after its historic region of origin (Gard is part of Languedoc).

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 medium size, and a crown of an open shape. The

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, ...

are elliptic-lanceolate, of a medium length and width. The olives are of medium weight (3–5 g), ovoid shape and slightly asymmetrical. The stone is pointed at both ends, with a smooth 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 fruit is harvested in October and November, while still green, for use as table olives. For the purpose of producing

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 ...

, the olives are picked later, once they have turned black. The exact time of harvest for oil is a matter of judgement for the individual farmer; an early harvest gives a fruity taste, while a later harvest brings out more sweetness.

Processing

The Picholine is most notable for its use as a

cocktail A cocktail is a mixed drink, usually alcoholic beverage, alcoholic. Most commonly, a cocktail is a combination of one or more liquor, spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as juices, flavored syrups, tonic water, Shrub (drink), shrubs, and ...

olive. For this purpose they are lye cured, then fermented in

brine Brine (or briny water) is a high-concentration solution of salt (typically sodium chloride or calcium chloride) in water. In diverse contexts, ''brine'' may refer to the salt solutions ranging from about 3.5% (a typical concentration of seawat ...

for up to a year, giving them a slightly salty taste. It is also used for extraction of

, but gives only a medium yield. Normally 20–22% can be extracted, but plants under

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 ...

sometimes produce as little as 15–18%. The taste of the oil is fruity with a hint of bitterness.

Agronomy

It is considered a cultivar of good, constant production. The tree is of medium size, and assumes a low, spread-out form when carrying fruit. It adapts well to different forms of soils and climates. It is generally agreed that the cultivar is only partially self-fertile, so it can take advantage of a certain presence of

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. Among the olive cultivars used for pollination are the Bouteillan, Leccino, Lucques, Manzanillo, and Sigoise. It is vulnerable to certain organic

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 ...

, including '' Gloeosporium olivarum'', '' Palpita unionalis'' and '' Liothrips oleae''. It is also vulnerable to cold; while an adult tree can sustain temperatures down to , young trees need much higher temperatures to survive. This can be a problem in the Gard and Provence regions, where winters can often be fierce.

Cross breeding

Hybridization of the ''Picholine'' and Manzanillo (Bellini et al. 2002b) resulted in the newer cultivars ''Arno'', ''Tevere'', and ''Basento''.

References

{{Olives Olive cultivars