Olives...A member of the fruit family.

Olive are a member of the fruit family and grow on trees that were first cultivated over 5,000 years ago in Syria and Crete. In the 1700's, monks brought olives to Mexico and then to California by way of missions. The first cuttings of olive trees were planted in 1769 at the San Diego Mission. The commercial cultivation of California olives then began in the late 1800's. Today, California over 100,000 tons of olives are produced each year.