Some food for thought (pun intended).
"Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth." (ZEC 4:11-14)
"These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth... These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will." (REV 11:4-6)
The Olive Tree:
Pliny the Elder noted that the olive tree is more liable to disease on rich soils, and the oil produced is inferior to the trees growing in rocky ground;
Thrives in calcareous soil, however dry or poor, even in clay (if well drained);
Olive trees prefer calcareous soils, flourishing best on limestone slopes and crags;
In Greece, grafting the cultivated variety onto the wild is common practice;
They tolerate drought well, thanks to their sturdy and extensive root system;
The age of one olive tree in Crete was determined to be 2000 years old by tree ring analysis;
Another olive tree in Croatia has been calculated at 1600 years old - it still produces fruit which is made into top quality olive oil;
Farmers in early times believed the trees would not grow well if planted too far from the sea (Theophrastus gives 300 Stadia, or 55km, as the limit - though modern evidence does not always confirm this, the trees prefer to be closer to the coast);
rarely exceeds 8-15 meters in height;
its trunk is usually gnarled and twisted;
its fruit is thinner-fleshed in wild plants than in cultivated;
Horace said, "As for me, olives, endives, and smooth mallows provide sustenance";
Lord Monboddo said in 1779 that the olive was one of the most perfect foods, preferred by the ancients;
Pliny the Elder spoke of a sacred Greek olive tree that was 1600 years old;
Several olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane are reputed to date back to the time of Jesus;
Some Italian olive trees are believed to date back to Roman times;
Olives, bitter in their natural state, are often subjected to fermentation or cured with lye or brine to make them more palitable;
Can be productive for centuries, so long as they are pruned correctly and regularly;
Grow very slowly;
It's yellow or light greenish-brown wood is hard and finely grained with a darker tint and is valued by woodworkers;
Oleuropein, an antioxident found in olives, is valuable to the human diet;