Phillyrea latifolia L. var. latifolia

Spice In the field

Family: OLEACEAE

Genus: Phillyrea

Sinònims: Phillyrea latifolia L.

Province distribution: Alacant. Balearic Islands. Barcelona. Castelló. Girona. Lleida. Tarragona. València.

Distribution in the islands: Mallorca.

General distribution (Phytogeography): West Mediterranean

IUCN Category: LCLeast concern

Flowering time: JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Life-forms: Macrophanerophyte.

Habitats: Oakforest. Pine wood and shrubland with rosemary and thyme garigue. Holm oak forest and garriques.

Characteristics: A sclerophyllous bush with leaves dark green in colour with dentate margins and the base is slightly heart shaped. The flowers are not very showy, grouped around the branch axils. Can be told apart from subspecies media and Ph. angustifolia as both the later have lanceolate leaves and an entire margin.

Observations: It's not easy to differentiate this subspecies from others of the same genus, as they are not well known in the Balearic Islands.