Are Mission Olives Actually Picholine Marocaine?
Mission olives, introÂduced in the late 1700s to California misÂsions, became the priÂmary culÂtiÂvar for table olives and olive oil and are listed as the only olive culÂtiÂvar from the United States in the World Catalogue of Olive Varieties. Modern DNA techÂniques have shown that Mission olives may actuÂally be the same as Picholine Marocaine, a comÂmon variÂety in Morocco, leadÂing to quesÂtions about their hisÂtorÂiÂcal oriÂgins and selecÂtion for the misÂsions.
Mission olives have spread over California since their introÂducÂtion in the late 1700’s to the misÂsions dotÂting El Camino Real. With time they became the priÂmary culÂtiÂvar for table olives and olive oil, so widely culÂtiÂvated that Mission is listed as the only olive culÂtiÂvar from the United States in the World Catalogue of Olive Varieties. The underÂstandÂing was that, in spite of its Old World oriÂgin, Mission was a difÂferÂent culÂtiÂvar that underÂwent genetic changes in the New World and was unlike any other. However, modÂern DNA finÂgerÂprintÂing techÂniques sugÂgest othÂerÂwise.
In the last decade, olive germplasm banks based in the Mediterranean basin (the ancesÂtral birthÂplace of the olive) have used DNA techÂniques to charÂacÂterÂize, idenÂtify and preÂserve wild and comÂmerÂcial olive variÂeties. Such work has been used to setÂtle conÂflictÂing cases of synÂonyms (difÂferÂent names applied to a sinÂgle culÂtiÂvar at difÂferÂent locaÂtions) or homonyms (the same variÂety name used for two difÂferÂent culÂtiÂvars). At Agbiolab we use the same finÂgerÂprintÂing methÂods to match olive plants that could have been misÂlaÂbeled or misidenÂtiÂfied.
Thus it was surÂprisÂing that olive samÂples colÂlected from sevÂeral Mission olive orchards and from ancient trees shared a DNA finÂgerÂprint matchÂing the one from Picholine Marocaine. As its name implies, Picholine Marocaine (not to be conÂfused with Picholine from France, or Redding Picholine from the USA) is the most comÂmon variÂety in Morocco. It shares agroÂnomic and morÂphoÂlogÂiÂcal traits with Mission olives, and both are dual purÂpose olive culÂtiÂvars that yield good qualÂity oil.
Could this tanÂtaÂlizÂing genetic findÂing be corÂrobÂoÂrated by hisÂtorÂiÂcal records? Are Mission olives actuÂally Picholine Marocaine? Why were they choÂsen for the New World misÂsions? We welÂcome any conÂtriÂbuÂtion that can shed some light into this conunÂdrum.
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