Can somebody ID this stump

[ShimpakuBonsai]

Yesterday I vistited a small mom and pop garden center and I found a large stump.
The roots had grown out of the pot into the ground and I had to pull it hard to get it loose.

The lady wasn't sure about the species but she thought it was some kind of olive.
Because the stump was not interesting to her I was able to take it home for free.

The base of the stump is 10-12 cm in diameter.

I've tried to ID this species with the Plantnet app but I'm not sure about it.

Can somebody ID this stump?

 

[penumbra]

Possibly a willow?

 

[Gabler]

When I look at that, I also see a willow, but I don’t really know anything about olives, so it could be that there’s an olive species which closely resembles a willow.

 

[Shibui]

Hard to be sure because of lack of info but the stump, trunk and leaves look a lot like olive.
Having said that there are a number of species that have 'olive' as part of the common name so could be several other plants too.

Grow it for a few seasons and report back for more opinions.

 

[rockm]

Did they have any other details about the plant? Did they keep it outside in the winter, for instance?

Looks like an olive to me, but could be other things. Additional clues could help.

 

[BobbyLane]

looks like olea europa. if you search my name or conardash's name with olive it will show a couple similar stumps we worked on

 

[ShimpakuBonsai]

Thanks so far.

The stump was outside and because the roots were grown into the ground I think it has been outside for a while (more than a year).

The Plantnet app says that there is a 34% match with Olea Europaea based on the leaves of the stump.

I will let it grow wild for at least a year to get some more branches for further development.

 

[yashu]

Looks like salix to me. I have a sapling I just put in the back yard and the foliage and habit look identical.

 

[penumbra]

Looks like an even split between olive Olea and Salix, time will tell if no one else does.

 

[yashu]

It’s a tough cal, I’m not sure what to make of the trunk… most of the small willows I’ve seen are younger and most of the small olives I’ve seen seem older

 

[BobbyLane]

Thanks so far.

The stump was outside and because the roots were grown into the ground I think it has been outside for a while (more than a year).

The Plantnet app says that there is a 34% match with Olea Europaea based on the leaves of the stump.

I will let it grow wild for at least a year to get some more branches for further development.

Here's an Olea europa for comparison. https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/olive-stump.26766/

 

[plant_dr]

My first thought was willow, but willow leaves grow alternately on their stems. Olea Europe leaves grow opposite to each other on the stems, like yours are. Willow stems usually have a green, yellow, or tan/ brown color on their stems. Olive have that white or silvery color on younger stems, like yours.

There are many many varieties of willow- with a wide variety of leaf shapes and sizes, etc. But the ones I've seen usually have their veins arranged in parallel lines coming out from the midrib. Yours doesn't appear to have that.

Willow often have varying degrees of teeth along the edges of their leaves (depending on the variety). Yours don't appear to have that.

Based on those criteria, my vote is for olive.

 

[ConorDash]

Yeah I'm gonna vote olive too. European olive, not the other one (other popular one, silvestris or something, literally too lazy to Google it!).
The growth habit is a bit weird, there's something off about it, but mostly saying olive. Leaf shape is olive and I can see the texture of the leave too, very much olive.

Its also doing the thing olives do when stressed, shooting out growth from its base before the top. Maybe I'm just getting timings mixed up but it should be exploring with growth from the top where it was cut but it's not, it's shooting from the base. Maybe this is common for many trees but given how easy olive are to root and how indestructible they can be, it shooting from the base, is olive-like to me.

Some closer up leaf pics of mine, if it helps. Check out new growing leaves. If it looks same as mine, then that gives you more of a confidence in it being this species.

 

[rockm]

Many willow species' leaves have serrated edges. Not many have smooth leaf edges...Olive leaves have smooth edges...

 

[Crazy Diamond]

Its an Olive guys, probably Wild Olive Olea sylvestris, Acebuche in spanish

 

[ShimpakuBonsai]

The top of the stump was dead and I cut off two straight upward pointing dead branches before I took the picture.
A small part of the top of the stump is also rotting and I think only the lower part of this stump is still alive.

 

[ConorDash]

The top of the stump was dead and I cut off two straight upward pointing dead branches before I took the picture.
A small part of the top of the stump is also rotting and I think only the lower part of this stump is still alive.

Sounds like it'll make a cool tree then. Make sure you use that to your advantage. Maybe accelerate the rotting by 50-70 years. It's a nice little lump, long term project but still.

 

[yashu]

Having gone home and looked at my salix I will withdraw my initial guess and also go with olive

 

[nuttiest]

I want to say pomegranate because of leaf thickness and they will grow long like this before dividing. Smell the leaves - olives more distinctly herby

 

[Crazy Diamond]

I dont think it could be Punica granatum, the stems and leaves are slightly different in Pomegranate, I think its pretty obvious a Wild olive Olea sylvestris where I live I see them all the time; they are very easy to identify