Olive tree 
‘‘Olive trees are silver, sometimes blue or green, bronze, whitening on yellow grounds to red ochre. But very difficult, very difficult…but it pleases me to work in gold and silver.’’ - Vincent Van Gogh
Imported by the Greeks in Provence 2500 years ago, the olive tree is today one of the symbols of the Southern landscapes. A low and gnarled trunk characterizes it with long and narrow green leaves. When the tree becomes a hundred-year-old, his trunk disappears and new shoots appear on the base, making it an immortal tree. That tree is from 17 to 21 feet high and feeds the men with it perfumed and beneficial oil. The Olive tree lives in very dry environment and consequently its wood is very strong, yellow - veined with brown when polished. Today it is used in cabinetmaking and woodcarving, and we can find easily wooden objects in almost every Provencal markets. On the set of all Olive trees cultivated in Provence, only 10% of them produced table olives (around 800 000 tons a year). In summer, its light and thick foliage supply a very fresh shade and an esthetic that many painters have attempted to fix on canvas.
