[Alevin]

A friend asked me to help putting a name on this tree, that he found growing in a huge Villa in the North of Italy, near one of the lakes.
It does look like a Ficus, but the fruit and flowers don't match. Does anybody have an idea?

[David Bracey]

Looks a bit like acamellia?

[Alevin]

Yes it does, but flowers? fruit? tree-size?

I am sorry for the big-sized images, I will remove them as soon as they are identified, or try to replace with thumb-sized ones.

[oron peri]

Alessandra,
At a first look by the shape of the tree it seems like a Phytolacca but i'll look at it more carfully when i have more time, [the leaves are too Camelia like and seems smaller...]
Might be a hybrid between P. diocia and P. weberbauri?

[Alevin]

I thought of a Phytolacca as well, but I am not familiar with P. weberbauri, and dioica flowers are really different.

[Alisdair]

Aren't the individual flowers and fruits of both P. dioica and P. weberbaueri (and indeed other Phytolaccas) too long-stalked?

[oron peri]

Looking at it more carefully it is evident that the fruits are very young and quite dry as well as the flowers.
I think it might be an old specimen!! of one of the early cultivars of Prunus laurocerasus
Che ne dici

[Alevin]

Oh, well, I have been spinning around these kind of ideas for a while now, but do not seem to find the correct inspiration. I thought of the Moraceae, because the leaves do look so much like those of  Ficus benjamina - but then the flowers and fruit arranged in spikes  don't fit.
Prunus laurocerasus was also an option, but the  leaves do seem quite different to me.
  How odd, normally I hit a solution - but this time the name is really elusive.
Well anyhow thanks for your help - I will keep researching.

[Alisdair]

Have you tried Guido Piacenza? He might even have seen that particular tree himself, as it can't be that far from his wonderful Parco Burcina.