What did Noah’s Ark carry back when the dove returned for the second time?

When the dove returned to Noah’s Ark for the second time, it carried a freshly plucked olive leaf. Genesis 8:11 says the dove came back in the evening with the leaf, showing Noah that the floodwaters had diminished from the Earth.

The leaf is evidence within the story that vegetation had reappeared or become accessible above the receding waters. Noah then waited and sent the dove out again; on that later release, it did not return. The sequence leads to the eventual opening of the Ark after the ground became dry.

The olive leaf later became a widely recognized symbol of peace, reconciliation, and hope. It is often called an olive branch in modern expression, but Genesis specifically says the dove carried a freshly plucked olive leaf. That wording makes “olive leaf” the most precise answer to the biblical question.