What plant leaf did the dove bring back to Noah after the Flood?

The dove brought Noah an olive leaf after the Flood.

Genesis 8:11 says that the dove returned toward evening with a freshly plucked olive leaf in its beak. Noah understood this as evidence that the waters had receded from the earth. The episode follows the earlier release of a raven and an unsuccessful first release of the dove.

The olive leaf became a widely recognized symbol of peace, renewal, and hope. That symbolism comes from the biblical scene’s association with the end of destruction and the return of habitable land. The text specifically says “olive leaf,” not a generic green leaf.

The passage does not say that the dove found the leaf on a particular mountain or tree. It simply uses the leaf as practical evidence that vegetation had emerged above the receding waters. The bird’s return with the leaf is one of the most frequently depicted moments in Ark art.