''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 shrubs, with small, opposite, entire leaf, leaves. The fruit is a drupe. Leaves of ''Olea'' contain trichosclereids. For humans, the most important and familiar species is by far the olive (''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 Olea paniculata, native olive (''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 Olea capensis, black ironwood ''O. capensis'', an inhabitant of KwaZulu-Natal Province, Natal, is important in South Africa. ''Olea'' species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including double-striped pug.

Species

Species accepted: # ''Olea ambrensis'' H.Perrier - Madagascar # ''Olea borneensis'' Boerl. - Borneo, Philippines # ''Olea brachiata'' (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 '' Ridl. - Pahang # ''Olea caudatilimba'' L.C.Chia - Yunnan # ''Olea chimanimani'' Kupicha - Chimanimani Mountains of Mozambique and Zimbabwe # ''Olea cordatula'' H.L.Li - Vietnam # ''Olea dioica'' Roxb. - India, Bangladesh, Myanmar # ''Olea europaea'' L. – Olive - Mediterranean, Africa, southwestern Asia, Himalayas; naturalized many other places # ''Olea exasperata'' Jacq. - South Africa # ''Olea gagnepainii'' Knobl. - Thailand, Laos # ''Olea gamblei'' C.B.Clarke - Sikkim # ''Olea hainanensis'' 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'' 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'' (Merr. & Chun) B.M.Miao - Hainan, Vietnam # ''Olea polygama'' Wight - India, Sri Lanka # ''Olea puberula '' Ridl. - Peninsular Malaysia # ''Olea rosea'' Craib - Yunnan, Thailand # ''Olea rubrovenia'' (Elmer) Kiew - Borneo, Philippines # ''Olea salicifolia'' Wall. ex G.Don - Assam, southern China, Indochina # ''Olea schliebenii'' Knobl. - Tanzania # ''Olea tetragonoclada'' L.C.Chia - Guangxi # ''Olea tsoongii'' (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'' Wall. ex G.Don - India # ''Olea woodiana'' Knobl. - South Africa, Swaziland, Kenya, Tanzania # ''Olea yuennanensis'' Hand.-Mazz. - China

Formerly placed here

*''Chionanthus foveolatus'' (E.Mey.) Stearn (as ''O. foveolata'' E.Mey.) *Ligustrum compactum, ''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'' (G. Don) P.S.Green (as ''O. aquifolium'' Siebold & Zucc. or ''O. ilicifolia'' Siebold ex Hassk.) : List source :

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q296910 Olea, Oleaceae genera