In Genesis, Noah’s dove returned with a freshly plucked olive leaf.
Genesis 8:11 says the dove came back to the Ark in the evening with an olive leaf in its beak. Noah understood this as evidence that the waters had receded from the earth. On a later flight, the dove did not return, indicating that it had found a place to live.
The olive leaf became a widely recognized symbol of peace, renewal, and hope, although the Genesis passage specifically uses it as evidence of returning vegetation. The text does not say that the dove carried a branch or a whole sprig; it says a freshly plucked leaf.
This detail is sometimes combined with later artistic symbols, especially the white dove of peace. In the Ark narrative, the important point is the leaf’s botanical sign: dry land and living plants were becoming available again.