The tree in the town of Bar was successfully harvested in October for the first time in four seasons, following years of urgent restorative work.

"It is believed that the ancient Greeks brought it here," House of Olives executive director Marija Markoc told AFP, from under its canopy.

The House of Olives, a public company tasked with maintaining the tree, was established by the local government as part of an effort to save it after its health began to decline rapidly in 2022.

Earlier this month, little green fruit once again tipped the tree's gnarled branches, a positive sign for future harvests from the tree, which is closely tied to the small community of Mirovica.

"They identify with how much it has managed to overcome, and with the fact that it is once again bearing fruit and surviving."

Olive trees dot the surroundings of the coastal town, with several said to date back thousands of years.

Markoc said that laboratory testing of trees in the region conducted in 2015 placed Mirovica's tree at 2,250 years -- which was not even the oldest.

That age would put it among some of the oldest living olive trees in the world but the species is notoriously difficult to date, with previous analyses on similarly "ancient" trees having difficulty pinpointing exact ages.

A 2024 study of the trees in Lebanon found that one roughly double the size of Mirovica's could be at least 1,000 years old -- but most tree samples tested were between 500 and 600 years old.