''Olea'' ( ) is a genus of about 40 species in the family Oleaceae, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Middle East, southern Europe, Africa, southern Asia, and Australasia.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, genus ''Olea''
/ref> They are evergreen trees and

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

s, with small, opposite, entire

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

. The fruit is a

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or '' pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel'') ...

. Leaves of ''Olea'' contain trichosclereids. For humans, the most important and familiar species is by far the

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

(''Olea europaea''), native to the Mediterranean region, Africa, southwest Asia, and the Himalayas,Altevista Flora Italiana, Oleastro, ''Olea europaea'' L.
/ref> which is the type species of the genus. The

native olive Native olive is a common name for several plants and may refer to: *''Bursaria incana'' (Pittosporaceae) *'' Bursaria spinosa'' (Pittosporaceae) *'' Chionanthus ramiflorus'' (Oleaceae) *'' Notelaea ligustrina'' (Oleaceae) *'' Notelaea lloydii'' (Ole ...

(''O. paniculata'') is a larger tree, attaining a height of 15–18 m in the forests of Queensland, and yielding a hard and tough timber. The yet harder wood of the black ironwood ''O. capensis'', an inhabitant of Natal, is important in South Africa. ''Olea'' species are used as food plants by the larvae of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

species including double-striped pug.

Species

Species accepted: # '' Olea ambrensis'' H.Perrier - Madagascar # ''

Olea borneensis ''Tetrapilus borneensis'' is a species of flowering plants in the olive family, Oleaceae. It grows as a tree up to tall, with a trunk diameter of up to . The bark is whitish or light grey. The flowers are white or yellowish-green. Fruit ripens ...

'' Boerl. - Borneo, Philippines # ''

Olea brachiata ''Tetrapilus brachiatus'' is a species of flowering plant in the olive family, Oleaceae. It grows as a shrub or small tree up to tall, with a stem diameter of up to . The twigs are pale brown. The flowers are dull white. Fruit ripens to purple-b ...

'' (Lour.) Merr. - Guangdong, Hainan, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia, Anambas Islands # '' Olea capensis'' L. – Small Ironwood - Comoros, Madagascar; Africa from South Africa north to Ethiopia, Sudan, Zaire, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, etc # ''

Olea capitellata ''Olea'' ( ) is a genus of about 40 species in the family Oleaceae, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Middle East, southern Europe, Africa, southern Asia, and Australasia. They are evergreen trees and shrubs, with small, oppo ...

'' Ridl. - Pahang # '' Olea caudatilimba'' L.C.Chia - Yunnan # ''

Olea chimanimani ''Olea chimanimani'' is an olive shrub or small tree, growing 2–3 meters tall, in the family Oleaceae. It is found only in the Chimanimani Mountains (whence its name), which lay on the border dividing Mozambique and Zimbabwe Zimbabwe ( ...

'' Kupicha - Chimanimani Mountains of Mozambique and Zimbabwe # ''

Olea cordatula ''Olea'' ( ) is a genus of about 40 species in the family Oleaceae, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Middle East, southern Europe, Africa, southern Asia, and Australasia. They are evergreen trees and shrubs, with small, oppo ...

'' H.L.Li - Vietnam # '' Olea dioica'' Roxb. - India, Bangladesh, Myanmar # ''

Olea europaea The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

'' L. – Olive - Mediterranean, Africa, southwestern Asia, Himalayas; naturalized many other places # ''

Olea exasperata ''Olea'' ( ) is a genus of about 40 species in the family Oleaceae, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Middle East, southern Europe, Africa, southern Asia, and Australasia. They are evergreen trees and shrubs, with sma ...

'' Jacq. - South Africa # ''

Olea gagnepainii ''Olea'' ( ) is a genus of about 40 species in the family Oleaceae, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Middle East, southern Europe, Africa, southern Asia, and Australasia. They are evergreen trees and shrubs, with small, oppo ...

'' Knobl. - Thailand, Laos # ''

Olea gamblei ''Olea'' ( ) is a genus of about 40 species in the family Oleaceae, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Middle East, southern Europe, Africa, southern Asia, and Australasia. They are evergreen trees and shrubs, with small, oppo ...

'' C.B.Clarke - Sikkim # ''

Olea hainanensis ''Olea'' ( ) is a genus of about 40 species in the family Oleaceae, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Middle East, southern Europe, Africa, southern Asia, and Australasia. They are evergreen trees and shrubs, with small, oppo ...

'' H.L.Li - Vietnam, Laos, Guangdong, Hainan # '' Olea javanica'' (Blume) Knobl. - Philippines, western Indonesia # '' Olea lancea'' Lam. - Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion, Rodrigues Island # '' Olea laxiflora'' H.L.Li - Yunnan # '' Olea moluccensis'' Kiew - Maluku # ''

Olea neriifolia ''Olea'' ( ) is a genus of about 40 species in the family Oleaceae, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Middle East, southern Europe, Africa, southern Asia, and Australasia. They are evergreen trees and shrubs, with sma ...

'' H.L.Li - Hainan # '' Olea palawanensis'' Kiew - Palawan # '' Olea paniculata'' R.Br. - Yunnan, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Kashmir, Malaysia, Nepal, New Guinea, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, New Caledonia, Vanuatu # ''

Olea parvilimba ''Olea'' ( ) is a genus of about 40 species in the family Oleaceae, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Middle East, southern Europe, Africa, southern Asia, and Australasia. They are evergreen trees and shrubs, with small, oppo ...

'' (Merr. & Chun) B.M.Miao - Hainan, Vietnam # ''

Olea polygama ''Olea'' ( ) is a genus of about 40 species in the family Oleaceae, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Middle East, southern Europe, Africa, southern Asia, and Australasia. They are evergreen trees and shrubs, with sma ...

'' Wight - India, Sri Lanka # ''

Olea puberula ''Olea'' ( ) is a genus of about 40 species in the family Oleaceae, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Middle East, southern Europe, Africa, southern Asia, and Australasia. They are evergreen trees and shrubs, with small, oppo ...

'' Ridl. - Peninsular Malaysia # '' Olea rosea'' Craib - Yunnan, Thailand # ''

Olea rubrovenia ''Olea rubrovenia'' is a woody plant in the Olive genus ''Olea''. The plant is native to Borneo and the Philippines. Description ''Olea rubrovenia'' grows as a shrub or tree, up to tall, with a trunk diameter of up to . The bark is whitish. T ...

'' (Elmer) Kiew - Borneo, Philippines # '' Olea salicifolia'' Wall. ex G.Don - Assam, southern China, Indochina # ''

Olea schliebenii ''Olea'' ( ) is a genus of about 40 species in the family Oleaceae, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Middle East, southern Europe, Africa, southern Asia, and Australasia. They are evergreen trees and shrubs, with sma ...

'' Knobl. - Tanzania # ''

Olea tetragonoclada ''Olea'' ( ) is a genus of about 40 species in the family Oleaceae, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Middle East, southern Europe, Africa, southern Asia, and Australasia. They are evergreen trees and shrubs, with small, oppo ...

'' L.C.Chia - Guangxi # ''

Olea tsoongii ''Olea tsoongii'' is a plant of the genus '' Olea'', found in Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Sichuan, and Yunnan provinces of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world ...

'' (Merr.) P.S.Green - Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Sichuan, Yunnan # '' Olea welwitschii'' (Knobl.) Gilg & G.Schellenb. - central and eastern Africa from Ethiopia to Zimbabwe # ''

Olea wightiana ''Olea'' ( ) is a genus of about 40 species in the family Oleaceae, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Middle East, southern Europe, Africa, southern Asia, and Australasia. They are evergreen trees and shrubs, with small, oppo ...

'' Wall. ex G.Don - India # ''

Olea woodiana ''Olea woodiana'', known commonly as the forest olive or black ironwood ( Afrikaans: ''Bosolienhout''), is an African tree species belonging to the olive family ( Oleaceae). The tree grows in lower altitude hill forests from Kenya, Tanzania, ...

'' Knobl. - South Africa, Swaziland, Kenya, Tanzania # ''

Olea yuennanensis ''Tetrapilus tsoongii'' is a species of flowering plant in the olive family, Oleaceae. It is native to southern China, where it grows in the provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Sichuan, and Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked ...

'' Hand.-Mazz. - China

Formerly placed here

*'' Chionanthus foveolatus'' (E.Mey.) Stearn (as ''O. foveolata'' E.Mey.) * ''Ligustrum compactum'' var. ''compactum'' (as ''O. compacta'' Wall. ex G.Don) *'' Nestegis cunninghamii'' (Hook.f.) L.A.S.Johnson (as ''O. cunninghamii'' Hook.f.) *'' Noronhia emarginata'' (Lam.) Thouars (as ''O. emarginata'' Lam.) *'' Osmanthus americanus'' (L.) Benth. & Hook.f. ex A.Gray (as ''O. americana'' L.) *''

Osmanthus heterophyllus ''Osmanthus heterophyllus'' (Chinese: t , s , p ''zhōngshù''; ja, , ''Hiiragi''), variously known as holly osmanthus, holly olive, and false holly, is a species of flowering plant in the olive family Oleaceae, native to east ...

'' (G. Don) P.S.Green (as ''O. aquifolium'' Siebold & Zucc. or ''O. ilicifolia'' Siebold ex Hassk.) : List source :

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q296910 Oleaceae genera