The Olive Tree.
Olea.
A large tree, native of the warmer parts of Europe and the East. The trunk is thick and rough. The branches are numerous, and stand irregularly; their bark is grey and smooth. The leaves are longish and broad, and of a deep green on the upper side, and whitish underneath, and of a firm texture; the flowers are small and yellow; the fruit is of the bigness of a small plum, but of longer shape, and has a very large stone within.
The oil is the only produce of this tree used in medicine, it is pressed out of the fruit, and is excellent in disorders of the lungs, and against colics, and stoppages of urine. But in the latter cases the oil of sweet almonds fresh pressed is preferable, and for the first linseed oil; so that oil of olives, or as it called sallad oil is seldom used in medicine, unless these others cannot be had.
