Lucques
Encyclopedia
The Lucques is a cultivar
of olive
s grown primarily in Languedoc
in France
. It is primarily used as a green table olive. It can also produce high quality oil
, but this is hard to extract. Though vulnerable to certain pests, it is relatively resistant to cold and drought.
(Lucques in French); today it is primarily associated with southern France
, particularly in Languedoc
's, Roussillon
and Hérault
regions. It can also be found in Northern Africa, Turkey
, the United States
and Australia
.
in a shape described as "a vase or a parasol". The leaves
are elliptic-lanceolate, with a medium length and width. The olives are of medium to high weight, with an average commercial caliber of 20 to 24 fruits/hecto. They have an elongated, asymmetrical shape, with a pointed apex and a truncated base. The stone is pointed at both ends, with few groves and no mucro.
Though the fruit comes into bearing early, its ripening is late. Picking is at the end of October or beginning of November, while the skin is a light green. It matures in December, and when fully mature the colour of the fruit is green.
s and avocado
s. It is a highly valued olive among gourmets. It can also be used for oil
, and the oil it produces is of excellent quality, but it is difficult to extract. It gives a medium oil yield, of about 17%. The smell of the oil has alternately been described as "almond", "green apple
", and "tomato
". The taste is sweet; to some excessively so.
s. It is vulnerable to certain pests, including the olive fruit fly
, sooty mold
and Verticillium dahliae
. On the other hand, it has a moderately good tolerance to cold and drought.
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
of olive
Olive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
s grown primarily in Languedoc
Languedoc
Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It is primarily used as a green table olive. It can also produce high quality oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
, but this is hard to extract. Though vulnerable to certain pests, it is relatively resistant to cold and drought.
Extent
The Lucques owes its French name to the tradition that it originated in the Italian province of LuccaLucca
Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...
(Lucques in French); today it is primarily associated with southern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, particularly in Languedoc
Languedoc
Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...
's, Roussillon
Roussillon
Roussillon is one of the historical counties of the former Principality of Catalonia, corresponding roughly to the present-day southern French département of Pyrénées-Orientales...
and Hérault
Hérault
Hérault is a department in the south of France named after the Hérault river.-History:Hérault is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
regions. It can also be found in Northern Africa, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Synonyms
Locally, this cultivar is known under a number of different names, including Lucquoise or Luquoise, Oliva Lucchese, Oliverolle, Olivier de Lucques, Olivier Odorant and Plant du Languedoc.Characteristics
It is a cultivar of good strength, with a spreading growth formPlant life-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 , etc...
in a shape described as "a vase or a parasol". The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are elliptic-lanceolate, with a medium length and width. The olives are of medium to high weight, with an average commercial caliber of 20 to 24 fruits/hecto. They have an elongated, asymmetrical shape, with a pointed apex and a truncated base. The stone is pointed at both ends, with few groves and no mucro.
Though the fruit comes into bearing early, its ripening is late. Picking is at the end of October or beginning of November, while the skin is a light green. It matures in December, and when fully mature the colour of the fruit is green.
Processing
The Lucques is primarily used as a green table olive, and the fruit tastes meaty and sweet. Some compare it to fresh almondAlmond
The almond , is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree...
s and avocado
Avocado
The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...
s. It is a highly valued olive among gourmets. It can also be used for oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
, and the oil it produces is of excellent quality, but it is difficult to extract. It gives a medium oil yield, of about 17%. The smell of the oil has alternately been described as "almond", "green apple
Granny Smith
The Granny Ramsey Smith green apple is a tip-bearing apple cultivar, which originated in Australia in 1868. It is named after Maria Ann Smith, who propagated the cultivar from a chance seedling. The tree is thought to be a hybrid of Malus sylvestris, the European Wild Apple, with the domestic...
", and "tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
". The taste is sweet; to some excessively so.
Agronomy
It is considered a productive cultivar, but depends on good quality soil and regular irrigation to give a high yield. The cultivar is self-sterile, so it depends on other pollinatorPollinator
A pollinator is the biotic agent that moves pollen from the male anthers of a flower to the female stigma of a flower to accomplish fertilization or syngamy of the female gamete in the ovule of the flower by the male gamete from the pollen grain...
s. It is vulnerable to certain pests, including the olive fruit fly
Olive fruit fly
The olive fruit fly is a species of fruit fly which belongs to the Dacinae subfamily MUNRO, 1984. It is a kind of phytophagous species, whose larvae feed on the fruit of olive trees, hence the common name...
, sooty mold
Sooty mold
Sooty molds are Ascomycete fungi which grow on plant exudates and the sugary honeydew secreted by insects such as aphids, scales, the whitefly, and other insects which suck sap from their host plants. The name itself is descriptive, as sooty mold is a black, powdery coating adhering to the leaves...
and Verticillium dahliae
Verticillium dahliae
Verticillium dahliae is a fungal plant pathogen. It causes verticillium wilt in many plant species, causing leaves to curl and discolor. It may cause death in some plants.- External links :* *...
. On the other hand, it has a moderately good tolerance to cold and drought.