Olive

Olive (jalpai) a commercially important oil-plant of the family Oleaceae. The true olive, Olea europaea, is one of the oldest known fruits, first reported from Egypt since the beginning of the historical times.

Olive

Now, it is widely cultivated in Mediterranean regions and in many tropical and subtropical regions. The plant is mostly cultivated as the source of olive oil. The olive that is found in Bangladesh is a different plant, Elaeocarpus floribundus, commonly known as Indian olive or jalpai, cultivated widely as sour fruit. It is a much branched deciduous tree and bears oblong green one-seeded fleshy fruits (3  2 cm). The ripe fruit is edible or used as pickle. Unlike true olive no such oil is present in Indian olive. The flowering and fruiting time is December. Although largely a homestead plant, it also occurs wild in the forests of Chittagong and Sylhet regions. [Mostafa Kamal Pasha]