Evergreen shrub, native to the Balkan peninsula, through the Caucasus and Asia Minor, up to Iran and Libya. It has an upright habit, very well branched and bushy. The leaves are dark green, much lighter and more glossy when young, thick and leathery, oblong in shape, rounded towards the apex,
slightly serrated towards the outside.
It blooms between April and June with white, hermaphrodite flowers, arranged in a raceme, with a perfumed smell.
The fruits are red/purple drupes when unripe, and bluish-black when ripe. Fruits in late summer-early autumn.
USAGE
It is used as an ornamental and hedge plant thanks to its thick foliage.