Olive (Olea europaea) is a species of the Oleaceae family, native to the Mediterranean Basin and tropical areas of the Middle East. The olive tree is often found as an ornamental plant, in pots, indoors or gardens and terraces in summer. It has persistent foliage. The leaves are arranged opposite each other on the branches and are grey-brown with silvery, almost white undersides. The flowers are small, white, hermaphrodite. They grow clustered in racemes at the leaf axils. They appear in spring, only on branches older than one year. The fruits, known as olives, are round, elongated drupes with a single seed. They are green at first, with mature olives having a purplish colour.