The Salonenque, carrying the name of Salon-de-Provence, is a

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

of olives grown primarily in

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

. Though it is used for producing

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

, and gives a good yield, it is valued primarily as a table olive. It is produced as a so-called cracked olive, which means that the fruit is cracked to speed up the curing process.

Extent

The Salonenque is particularly common in Provence, especially in the

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( , , ; oc, Bocas de Ròse ; "Mouths of the Rhône") is a department in Southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the south. Its prefecture and ...

. In the

Vallée des Baux Les Baux-de-Provence (; oc, label= Provençal, Lei Bauç de Provença), commonly called Baux, is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southern France. It is located in the Alpilles mountain ...

it makes up over 60% of planted trees (as of 2004). It is also grown in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, primarily in the area around

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

Synonyms

The cultivar is also known locally under several other names, including Courgeole, Plant de Salon, Salonen, Sauren, Sauzen, Selounen and Varagen.

Characteristics

It is a cultivar of weak vigour, with an erect

growth form Plant life-form schemes constitute a way of classifying plants alternatively to the ordinary species-genus-family scientific classification. In colloquial speech, plants may be classified as trees, shrubs, herbs (forbs and graminoids), etc. The sc ...

. The leaves are short and narrow, with an elliptic-lanceolate form. The olives are of medium-high weight, and of an ovoid quite symmetrical shape. They are rounded both at the apex and the base. The stone has a rugose, or wrinkled surface, with a rounded apex, a pointed base, and a

mucro A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

. For use as table olives, the fruit is harvested relatively early, around 10 September. For

production the harvest is later, in early November. When fully mature, the colour of the fruit is bright green.

Processing

The primary use of the Salonenque is as a table olive, more specifically as cracked olives (olives that are slit during the curing for the process to go faster). They cured olives are "fresh with a firm, meaty texture and a whiff of aromatic

fennel Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized ...

". It is also used for production of oil, and gives a high yield (22–25%). The taste of the oil is sweet and delicate, and quite strong. The olive is freestonethe stone does not cling to the flesh. The Salonenque is used in several officially approved ''

appellations An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...

'': such as "AOC Vallée des Baux" and "AOC Pays d'Aix".

Agronomy

Salonenque is considered a cultivar of high and constant production, but has a low rooting ability. The Salonenque is partially self-fertile, but it can take advantage of nearby pollinators, among which are the

Grossane The Grossane is a cultivar of olives grown primarily in the Vallée des Baux and Bouches-du-Rhône regions of southern France. Though it can be used to produce oil, it is primarily used as a black table olive. Vulnerable to certain biological ...

and the Berruguette. It has a high level of resistance to the major

pests PESTS was an anonymous American activist group formed in 1986 to critique racism, tokenism, and exclusion in the art world. PESTS produced newsletters, posters, and other print material highlighting examples of discrimination in gallery represent ...

, with the exception of grubs of the olive moth '' Prays oleae'' and of the olive fruit fly ''

Bactrocera oleae The olive fruit fly (''Bactrocera oleae'') is a species of fruit fly which belongs to the subfamily Dacinae. It is a phytophagous species whose larvae feed on the fruit of olive trees, hence the common name. It is considered a serious pest in t ...

''. It has a good resistance also to cold, and can sustain temperatures down to −15 °C, but it is highly sensitive to wind.

References

{{Olives Olive cultivars