Olea europaea
Olea europaea
Zeytin
Tree to 10 m, with a broad crown, often gnarled trunk, and thornless nearly terete branches, or densely branched shrub to 2 m, with 4-angled ± thorny branches; twigs lepidote, grey; buds very small, lepidote-sericeous, greyish. Leaves lanceolate or obovate, 20-86 x 5-17 mm, subsessile, mucronate, dark green and glabrous above, densely silvery-lepidote beneath. Panicles shorter than leaves; flowers white, fragrant, 3-4 mm, drupe subglobose or oblong, 6-35 x 5-20 mm, shining black, brownish-green or rarely ivory-white when ripe. Fl. 5.
1. Leaves lanceolate, longer than 4 cm; twigs thornless, nearly terete; fruit large var. europaea
1. Leaves obovate, shorter than 4 cm; lower twigs ± thorny and quadrangular; fruit small var. sylvestris
Distribution of wild species: Mediterranean area. Medit. element.
