Phillyrea latifolia 'LES BARRÉS' large-leaved mock privet, green olive tree

Phillyrea

The genus Phillyrea belongs to the olive family (Oleaceae) and includes only two species of evergreen shrubs and small trees, primarily distributed around the Mediterranean. It was scientifically described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) in his seminal work Species Plantarum, where he openly acknowledged that phillyreas were not newly discovered plants from distant expeditions but woody species long familiar to the European landscape and culture. The father of modern botany, as Linnaeus is often called, merely gave them systematic names and classification. In recent decades the genus has returned to the attention of gardeners and botanists in connection with climate change. Slightly rising temperatures, later onsets of winter, abrupt weather swings and, above all, long‑term declines in precipitation create conditions in which some traditional woody species reach the limits of their tolerance while others, previously overlooked, begin to thrive unexpectedly. Phillyreas are among those that cope with these changes calmly and without obvious signs of stress — and remain evergreen.

Phillyrea latifolia originates from somewhat milder but still very dry parts of the Mediterranean, where it functions as one of the key structural elements of the native vegetation. It occurs from the Iberian Peninsula across southern France and Italy to the Balkans, often on rocky slopes, in open woodlands and at the margins of macchia, where it forms a transition between open scrub and forest. Unlike the narrow‑leaved phillyrea (Phillyrea angustifolia), which is a specialist of extreme drought and poor soils, P. latifolia appears more balanced and less narrowly adapted – a species capable of occupying a broader spectrum of natural habitats within the Mediterranean landscape.

The origin of its scientific name reaches deep into Greek mythology. The story tells of a sea nymph named Φιλύρα (Philyra), so beautiful that the god Cronus fell madly in love with her. To avoid discovery – since he already had a wife – he transformed himself into a stately stallion and seduced her in that guise. From their union was born the centaur Chiron, half man and half horse, later one of the most important centaurs in Greek myth. Philyra, ashamed and distraught, begged the gods to free her from human form; they granted her plea and transformed her into a tree – the phillyrea – a name that the genus still bears.