Leaf
Pierre Bonnet, Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0
Olive
Olea europaea L.
Also known as: European olive
Family: Oleaceae
3 to 10 m tall, sometimes more with age
Mediterranean hillsides, widely cultivated
Flowering: May – June
Full sun
-15°C
❓ How do you recognise this plant?
Evergreen foliage silvery on the underside — recognisable even without the fruit, in any season.
🍃 Leaves
Evergreen, narrow, grey-green above, silvery beneath
🌸 Flowers
Small, fragrant, creamy white clusters
🍎 Fruits
Olives, green then black when ripe
🪵 Bark
Grey, gnarled and hollowed in old specimens
🗺️ Distribution
Mediterranean basin; cultivated since antiquity, very common in the south of France
🐝 Value for pollinators
Mainly wind-pollinated, small flowers not very attractive to pollinators
✂️ Horticultural uses
Grown in orchards for its fruit (oil, table olives), planted as a specimen in a pot or in the ground in mild climates
⚠️ Possible toxicity
No known toxicity; fresh unprocessed olives are very bitter and hard to digest
🌿 Other Oleaceae to discover
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.
🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.
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