Olive

the leaf of olive (Oleae folium)

The olive (Olea europaea) is a long-lived Mediterranean tree with grey-green leathery leaves, silver on the underside; here it thrives in Slovenian Istria and on the Karst, where it is grown for oil. The trees reach several hundred years of age.

Herbalism uses not the fruit but the leaf. It is gathered all year round, but best at the winter pruning, when branches are being taken off in any case; the leaves are stripped from the branches and dried in the shade, in a thin layer. Dried, they stay grey-green and leathery.

The olive leaf is slightly bitter and gives the infusion a Mediterranean character. In Ašič's collection it appears in the VpresSIT blend, where it makes up two fifths and which is the only blend containing it.

Use and evidence

The EMA recognises the leaf for traditional use to increase the urine in mild fluid retention once serious causes have been ruled out. The effects of olive oil as a food do not carry over to the leaf, or the other way round. EMA.