Arbequina is a cultivar of olives. The fruit is highly aromatic, small, symmetrical and dark brown, with a rounded apex and a broad peduncular cavity. It has recently become one of the dominant olive cultivars in the world.
The name Arbequina comes from the village of Arbeca in the comarca of the Les Garrigues, where it was first introduced to Europe from Palestine in the seventeenth century by the Duke of Medinaceli becoming one of the most widely planted cultivars in the world. Arbequina olives are self-fruiting trees prized for their dark brown, tart fruits. The plant gets 12 to 20 feet tall (3.5 to 6 m.) tall with a spread of up to 15 feet (4.5 m.) Even northern gardeners can grow this tree if it is planted in a container and brought indoors for winter. Trees thrive in containers for years and will even fruit in such a confined space with careful pruning. The tree is semi-deciduous but will keep its narrow blue-gray leaves in warmer climates or when the plant is overwintered indoors.
