The olive tree flower has several names depending on the region. The most common are rapa, esquimo, cadillo and trama, although in some areas the latter name is used to refer to the small green, button-shaped shoot that will eventually develop into the flower.
Olive tree flowers are small and grow in clusters containing between ten and fifty flowers, depending on the olive tree variety. They are whitish in color with a yellow center and consist of four petals, a small calyx, a uniform corolla, two stamens and a four-lobed limb.
Olive tree flowers have a light, delicate scent. Because the flowers are small and white, the flowering of the olive tree often goes visually unnoticed by people who are unfamiliar with olive cultivation. What is more noticeable is the accumulation of pollen in areas with large expanses of olive groves, such as Andalusia.
When does the olive tree flower?
Although there is some variation in the timing of flowering, it usually takes place during the middle weeks of May.
This is a critical period for the future harvest, as poor flowering will generally result in a smaller crop.
Sometimes temperatures rise considerably in May, causing the flowers to dry out before they can be pollinated and produce fruit.
In fact, the most significant crop forecasts are usually carried out after flowering, when the fruit set can be estimated. In other words, this is when farmers assess how many female flowers have been fertilized and have developed into small olives.
Pollination of olive tree flowers
In general, olive trees flower from May onwards. At this time, pollen travels through the air and reaches the female flowers, where fertilization takes place. An embryo then forms inside the developing fruit, marking the beginning of its growth.
Some olive tree flowers are hermaphroditic, meaning that they have both male and female reproductive organs (stamens and pistils) and can therefore develop into fruit. Others, however, produce only pollen and are male flowers, which do not produce fruit.
Another very interesting phenomenon in the pollination process is that, in very exceptional circumstances, pollen from an olive tree can fertilize flowers of the same variety. For this reason, nature relies on cross-pollination between varieties to help ensure the genetic diversity and resilience of the species.
As an interesting fact, only around 2% of all the flowers produced during flowering complete the entire cycle and develop into olives. The olive tree subsequently sheds those fruits that it cannot sustain for the remainder of its annual cycle.