Phillyrea latifolia

Phillyrea. This is one of two species of this genus which are evergreen shrubs to small trees in the Olive family, Oleaceae, and very close relatives of Osmanthus. It is rarely available in American nurseries and rarely seen in the landscape. Architectural Trees, a nursery in the UK which grows specimen plants for the landscape comments: "This tree has rather aristocratic associations (we call it posh) – but only because of its long lineage and its widespread use in horticulture for many centuries. We often sell these to English Heritage and the National Trust when they’re restoring Tudor, Elizabethan or Mediaeval gardens. There’s masses of evidence to show that Phillyrea was used extensively hundreds of years ago. The diarist John Evelyn (a keen gardener in the 17th century and contemporary of Samuel Pepys) writes of them frequently – as if they were then as common as box, yew and holly. What happened? They used to be so widespread and now they’re rare. Garden historians are perplexed