Olive

In Bar grows Stara Maslina – an olive tree more than 2,000 years old and one of the oldest trees in Europe.

An evergreen tree with silvery, lance-shaped leaves and a gnarled trunk that becomes hollow with age, living for hundreds or even thousands of years. It tolerates drought and stony soils superbly, and regrows from the trunk when damaged. Its fruits are pressed for olive oil and prepared as table olives. Olive wood is hard, beautifully grained and prized by craftspeople.

Significance in the country

Stara Maslina in the Mirovica district of Bar is protected as a natural monument and is a symbol of the town; according to local tradition, feuding families made peace in its shade. The olive groves of Bar and Ulcinj number hundreds of thousands of trees.

Where it grows

Along the whole Adriatic coast, from Herceg Novi and the Bay of Kotor to Ulcinj; the oldest and largest groves are around Bar and Ulcinj (Valdanos).

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