According to Genesis, what tree’s leaf did the dove bring back to Noah’s Ark?

According to Genesis, the dove brought an olive tree leaf back to Noah’s Ark. The fresh olive leaf showed Noah that the flood waters had receded enough for vegetation to reappear.

The bird first returned without evidence that dry land was ready. On a later flight, it came back carrying a freshly plucked olive leaf. Noah therefore understood that the waters had diminished from the earth, even though the landscape was not yet fully described as dry.

The olive branch or leaf later became a widely recognized symbol of peace, reconciliation, and hope. Its meaning grew beyond the Genesis story through Jewish, Christian, Greek, Roman, and modern political traditions. The United Nations flag, for example, uses olive branches as a peace emblem.

The biblical text says “olive leaf,” not a generic green leaf. Popular artwork may show many kinds of branches, and some retellings shorten the detail, but the specific tree in Genesis is the olive tree. This is separate from the later covenant sign involving the rainbow.