Axarquia Sky Images and Olive Trees
All the images on this page are from late 2019 until late 2020, and all from the local area of Lake Vinuela, Las Mayorales and Periana, (Axarquia) Ideal walking ground.
Camera: Nikon and Samsung Phone
Late into the night, I sit beside the water, watching the reflection of the stars,
on the blue mirror, the fragrance of the water,
the whispers of the wind, carry me into the enchanting mystical world,
I breathe Peace!
Mandakini
Andalucia Olive Trees
“The variety of olive tree growing in neat rows across Andalucia today is the Olea Europeea. It is sufficiently important to have inspired the Junta de Andalucia (Regional Government) to track every commercial tree. In fact each one has its own GPS co-ordinates and is carefully monitored by regional officials to ensure correctness for EU subsidies.”
Source Read more Andalucia.com
The native Mediterranean, olive trees, Olea Europaea, were planted first in the Mediterranean some 7000 years ago. Several countries claim to have the oldest living olive trees.
Allegedly the oldest is about 4000 years old, but no scientific study supports these claims, found in Northern Lebanon in the village of Bechealeh .
The oldest olive tree in Spain is believed to be close to 2000 years old, located in the Cadiz Province, Andalucia.
Source Ibrahim Alalou
Some of Andalucian Olives variety
More than 200 varieties of olives are grown in Spain. Each one has its own unique flavour and aroma. Discover their characteristic flavors and aromas, and learn now to recognize them and their Extra Virgin Olive Oils.
Regarding the olive oil production, the main producing province is Jaén followed by Córdoba, Sevilla, Málaga and Granada.
Picual, is the most important olive variety in Spain. It has an area of more than 1,000,000 hectares. It is grown mainly in the province of Jaén
Gordal Sevillana, because of its large olives, it is one of the most appreciated table olive varieties
The variety of Hojiblanca olive is the third most planted in Spain. It has 265,000 hectares of olive groves and stands out for its high resistance to drought.
Manzanilla Sevillana is one of the varieties of table olives par excellence.
Picudo, it is a variety of rustic olive of high production, high fatty yield of olives.
The Royal de Cazorla olive has its origin in the province of Jaén (Sierra de Cazorla).
Lechin de Granada stands out for its excellent conservation capacity. Therefore, its use as black table olives is highly appreciated.
Ocal is a versatile olive variety, suitable for table olives and olive oil production.
Alorena. A typical variety of the province of Málaga. Its oil has a light green colour, with an aroma in which green fruit and grass predominates.
Verdial de Velez Malaga it is a native variety of the province of Malaga which offers soft extra-virgin oils, somewhat peppery and with an intensely fruity flavor. It noted for its taste of ripe fruit.
Source Olive oils from Spain
Olea Europaea
are slow-growing evergreen trees and are known to last for centuries. The matured trees can be up to 30 feet tall and equally wide trees develop a rounded but then irregular crown of branches and foliage. Their brown trunks become twisted and knobby.
From the Olive trees
Spain is the largest producer of olive oil in the world. Spain produces around 5,300,000 metric tons of olives annually and about 75% of the total olive production is from Andalucia.
An olive tree can produce between 0, 15, 50, 75, 100… kilos of olives depending on the medium and the care applied
The kilos of olives and liters of oil produced by the olive tree is conditioned by the climate, soil quality, presence of pests, care performed, olive variety, planting density, etc.
The amount of kilos of olives that an olive tree can produce is also determined by the variety.
Productive varieties as Picual will be able to produce more kilos than Gordal Sevillana under similar conditions.
For example, high temperatures during the time of flowering of the olive tree reduces the fertility of pollen and curd olives.
For example, for low yielding varieties and early harvesting, they may need more than 10 kilos of olives to produce a liter of olive oil.
On the other side of the scale, we have high yielding varieties and late harvesting, which with just 4 kilos of olives can produce up to 1 litre of olive oil.
Benefits…
Allegedly the consumption of olive oil (particularly extra virgin olive oils because it is less-refined and therefore richer in vitamins) The benefits of black olives (Black Gold) can reduce the risk of:
heart disease,
stroke,
blood clots,
cancer, the anti-cancer effect can be due to the high amount of antioxidants as well as oleic acid present in them.
kidney stones,
diabetes,
Alzheimer's (strengthen memory, since they contain polyphenols— natural chemicals that reduce oxidative stress in the brain)
arthritis,
and can help to maintain bone mass
and increase the length of your life.
