We are happy to release a very nice crop of young Texas Wild Olives, aka Anacahuita or Mexican Olives! This ornamental member of the Borage family has highly attractive dark, soft , ovate leaves about 7" long by 3" wide . The small evergreen tree gets 15-30' by 10-16'.
Atop this little jewel are clusters of the lovliest white, funnel-shaped flowers we have ever seen. Yellow throated and 2-3" across, they resemble delicate white crepe paper and bloom throughout the year! The fruit of the plants resemble olives ( although they are not a member of the edible Olive family ) and are yellowish-green and about 1" long. They may be sweet, but eaten raw they are slightly toxic and may cause dizziness. Early Texas settlers used the fruit to make a perfectly safe and delicious jelly . They used syrup derived from the fruit as a cough medicine, a dye for cloth and a folk remedy for rheumatism . The wood is even highly prized in carpentry!
Highly drough tolerant, the small tree is regaining popularity as we face ongoing water issues in Texas. It is very sensitive to cold weather north of the Austin area but thrives in zones 9-11.
Available in 3 gallon pots.