Picholine olive trees grow in Morocco, as well as the Riviera regions of France and Italy. The Picholine is widely known as a French cultivar of olives, but it also produces the most common variety of olive oil from Morocco. These medium-sized trees produce a slightly large olive that is harvested while green.

From September to October, green Picholine fruits are harvested by hand for table olives. The olives that are processed for oil are usually picked later, once they have turned black. The exact harvest date for oil depends on the desired taste—an early harvest produces fruity oil, while a later harvest yields a sweeter product.