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Phillyrea latifolia
Green olive tree
Green olive tree (Eng), labiérnago prieto, labiérnago negro (Spa), aladern de fulla ampla, aladern mitjá (Cat), gartxu hostozabal (Baq), aderno (gall,); aderno (Por).
Native
DID YOU KNOW...? In some places this plant is also known as agracejo, a name that gives rise to confusion because it is more commonly used for the thorny shrub species in the genus Berberis, which is very different.
DESCRIPTION
The green olive tree is a small tree that can be up to 8 m tall, but which often occurs as a dense, branching shrub, with a smooth, greyish-brown trunk and erect branches. The leaves are persistent, simple, opposite, with a very small or absent stalk, i.e., they sit on the twigs. They are very variable, with the margin being entire or finely serrated, and they sometimes have points like soft spines. They are 2.7-7.5 cm long, 1-4 cm wide, oval, oval-lanceolate or elliptical. The flowers are inconspicuous, but the fruits are more noticeable. They are fleshy, black when ripe and pea-sized with a stone inside (drupe).
ECOLOGY
This species grows in warm areas where frosts are rare and there is certain level of environmental humidity, from sea level up to 1200 m. This species is found on scrubland and in evergreen forests, and is indifferent to substrate.
DISTRIBUTION
This tree lives in the Mediterranean region. On the Iberian Peninsula it is more frequently found in the south and the northwest, becoming scarcer to the northeast and in central regions.
