Pau-branco (Picconia azorica)

Evergreen tree, up to 8 m, with a light-coloured bark. Leaves are entire, opposite, lanceolate to ovate, glabrous, up to 6 cm long and 3 cm wide. Flowers, axillary, white and small. Fruit is ovoid, purple-blue or brown when ripe and up to 1.5 cm long. Endemic to the Azores, where it is distributed throughout all the islands except Graciosa. Found on coastal cliffs, ravines, hillsides and malpaíses or badlands, between 50 and 750 m above sea level, it is highly characteristic of evergreen forests at lower altitudes. Much sought-after for its wood in the past, this and competition with introduced species, habitat degradation, grazing cattle and other threats led to drastic decline in some islands. Despite all, it is still common in several areas. In Macaronesia, there is another species of this genus, Picconia excelsa, exclusive to Madeira and the Canary Islands.