Green olive tree
Phillyrea latifolia
Family · Oleaceae · Harmless
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The tree everyone mistakes for a young holm oak or a strawberry tree, and which is in fact a relative of the olive. Hard opposite leaves, smooth grey bark, and dark blue berries in autumn.
Scrubland · Oak woods · Montado · Uplands
Also known asmock privet, wide-leaved phillyrea
How to tell it
Leaves always in pairs, opposite each other, leathery, dark green and glossy, finely toothed when the plant is young and nearly smooth when old. Smooth grey bark that cracks into small fissures with age. Discreet greenish white flowers, round dark blue to black fruits.
What it is confused with
Holm oak
Quercus rotundifolia
Look at how the leaves attach to the twig: on phillyrea they always come in opposite pairs; on holm oak they alternate, one at a time. It is the most reliable difference in Mediterranean scrub.
Open sheet →Mastic tree
Pistacia lentiscus
Mastic has compound leaves, several leaflets on a winged axis, and smells of resin when crushed; phillyrea has simple leaves and smells of nothing.
Open sheet →What it is for
The wood is among the hardest and heaviest in the Peninsula and was used for tool handles, gear teeth and quality charcoal. The fruits are important food for thrushes and blackbirds, and are not eaten: they are bitter and astringent.