Olocau.BIZ - The Macollades of Olocau

THE MACOLLADES OF OLOCAU

The purpose of this exhibition is to let people know about one of the most important natural patrimonies of Olocau. Around the village itself and throughout the groves, collections of carob trees can be found, which have been growing for heaven, knows how long, on the stoniest land ever discovered.Also this is probably the largest “arboretum” of carob trees growing in the arid areas of Valencia and Europe.Bearing this in mind, our aim is to draw people’s interest in order to maintain, not only respect towards them, but also to the protection to these living monuments, so as to guarantee their conservation.

The trees themselves are roots or offshoots of previous ones which form part of a cluster of vegetation known by the villagers of Olocau as a “macollà”, which according to the dictionary edited by Escrig and Martínez (1887), means: - a set of roots or offshoots grown from a unique seed.In this case, it is a collection of old carob trees which have taken root at the foot of an older tree.

This collection of trees is divided as follows:

The “macolla del Édua” is a group of trees, surrounded by allotments and can be found facing the village on a rocky ledge.In general the trees are well conserved because they are especially cared for by the owners. There are about 30 trees within this area. One of the trees stands out in particular, because its trunk looks like a magician out of a fairy tale.

<< The branches of the Èdua carob trees, Dance with the backcloth of the landscape Of the majestic Ali-Maimó Cliffside >>

The macollà corresponding to the Balsa de l'Amara , situated near the water deposit used to irrigate the land is spread over the rocky areas and is separated by some local irrigation channels, making it an attractive setting. In general, this area of approximately 50 trees, is cared for and protected.

<< The water from the deposit Surrounds the green solemn shadows Of the carob trees From the “macollá de l'Amara" >>

The macollá belonging to the area known as the Barrancà , located near the old trail to Marines, on the edge of the Carraixet river bed, has lost most its trees.At present, there are 28 of them, some which are particularly outstanding, such as the “Tia Tona” carob tree, which can be found on the fluvial terrace of the river bed itself and whereby many of its roots are above ground.Another example is the “Tio Perico”, which has lost many of its branches, but still shows signs of the dry stone walls which support it.

<< The old trail to MarinesWith the ruts made by the carts Is protected by the shade Of the macollàde l'Amara From the hidden
river bed >>

The macollà known as Aigualeig , which is located between the allotment bearing the same name, and the cliffside of the Peña de Aigualeig, forms a gallery which extends between the allotments and the mountain itself.Here, the carob trees with twisted trunks and long branches, paint a fantastic, fairy tale-like picture.The area is full of stone mounds and pillars, supporting the branches.There are about 200 trees, some of them with majestic trunks, such as the “Tia Seberiana”.

<< If you wander along the Aigualeig macollà, Between the cross-light filtering through the carob trees, It's as though you are discovering the surprise of some living trees Through each ray of light >>

The existence of some of these carob trees is recorded in the local historical documents.There was an inventory carried out in 1655, which mentions the carob trees , which belonged to the mosque and at a later date, was passed over to the church where some of these trees can be found on the old road to Valencia.This confirms the fact that some of the trees could be more than four or five centuries old.As some of them are offshoots of previous trees, we are speaking about trunks which are more than 600 years old.Also, the book written in 1755 by Cabréis , from the district of Olocau , confirms the existence of the Amara, Edua and Aigualeg trees and at a later date, the title deeds recorded in Olocau, regarding ownership, are basic documents which provide information about the age of these trees.

Today, all this natural setting is in danger, as many of the owners receive very few economical benefits from the trees and therefore, they are abandoned.In addition to the bushes and pine trees which grow nearby to the trees and prevent their growth, the owners are reluctant to carry out the corresponding pruning, which is fundamental for the carob trees.Also, the dry branches increase the risk of forest fires, which are the greatest threat to the collection of Aiguleig’s Macollá (because a forest of pine trees on the edge of the cliff, includes cultivated land and has been turned into a forest of pine trees).

Through time, the natives of Olocau have conserved the collections of trees known as “macollades”, with great care.During the year, the ground was cleaned up, pruning was done, the large trunks were opened up, the stone pillars supporting the larger branches were built, etc.This was a necessary process to be carried out to conserve the trees, but unfortunately has fallen into disuse.The result is that the process is disappearing and the tendency of any carob tree is to regress to its natural state, i.e. a bush.We are still in time to save this living vegetation, which possibly forms the most extended and complete arboretum of carob trees in Europe.

PROTECTIVE ACTIONS TAKEN TO CONSERVE THE MACOLLADES

The plan is to study and establish some corrective actions for the abandoned areas, always counting on the owner's consent.The procedure could be as follows:

Improve and recuperate the areas where the carob trees grow, by destroying the plants which have a negative effect upon their natural development, such as the pine treesbrambles, etc.; maintain the trees by pruning and thinning them out, cutting the dry branches and caning up those branches which are in danger of breaking.Also, by cleaning up the new shoots and ventilating the trunks of the trees.

To fence off a protected area around the Aigualeig macollà, between these trees and the pine trees growing on the top of the Peña del Aigualeig.This is an action which must be taken urgently, because at present, should a forest fire break out in the pine tree area, the burning pine trees would drop onto the carob trees and they would be all get burnt as a whole.

In Olocau’s case, to restore the dry stone elements which surround the tees, the aim of dividing the terrain into allotments, is to maintain and retain the land.This prevents it from being sucked away by the torrential rains, within an area where the stones and rocky areas are so abundant and therefore, it has been difficult to convert this land for cultivation.
Other constructive elements of dry stone found in the “macollades” are the porous stones, together with the pillars, which are used to maintain the branches of the carob tree in place.In some cases, it was also a way to remove stones from the land and leave all the mounds of pillars in an orderly manner.The “tajones” are constructions made of dry stone in a square shape which measure from one to two meters high, and support two or three branches.The “tronas” are the stone walls which surround the perimeter of the carob tree itself.The “puntales” are single wedges of porous stone, which only support the branch itself.If different types of stone are used, they are called “pilares” (pillars).The disuse of all these aforementioned elements in order to protect the trees’ branches, only leads to the destruction and bending of the carob tree’s foliage.