''Noronhia emarginata'' (Madagascar olive; syn. ''Olea emarginata'' Lam.) is a species of ''

Noronhia ''Noronhia'' is a genus of 40 known species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae, all but one native to Madagascar, the remaining species native to the Comoros Islands north of Madagascar.University of Oxford, Oleaceae information site''No ...

'' native to

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, now naturalized on Mauritius, Réunion and Bermuda.Madagascar Catalogue
''Noronhia emarginata''
/ref>Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, ''Noronhia emarginata''
/ref> It is an

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

shrub or small tree growing to 3–15 m tall. It has smooth bark, stout

terete Terete is a term in botany used to describe a cross section that is circular, or like a distorted circle, with a single surface wrapping around it.Lichen Vocabulary, Lichens of North America Information, Sylvia and Stephen Sharnoff/ref> This is u ...

branches and flattened terminal twigs. The leaves are opposite, elliptical or obovate, up to 16 cm long and 10 cm broad, with an entire margin and an

emarginate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

(notched) apex. The flowers are small, pale whitish-yellow, fragrant, with a four-lobed corolla. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

is a

globose A sphere () is a geometrical object that is a three-dimensional analogue to a two-dimensional circle. A sphere is the set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three-dimensional space.. That given point is the ...

turbinate In anatomy, a nasal concha (), plural conchae (), also called a nasal turbinate or turbinal, is a long, narrow, curled shelf of bone that protrudes into the breathing passage of the nose in humans and various animals. The conchae are shaped lik ...

drupe 2–3 cm diameter, apiculate, bright yellow ripening dark purple, drying hard, dark brown, slightly rough with a single

pyriform Piriform, sometimes ''pyriform'', means pear-shaped (from Latin ''pirum'' "pear" and ''forma'' "shape"). It may also refer to: Going pear-shaped * Going wrong or going pear-shaped Anatomy * Piriform aperture, more commonly known as anterior n ...

, dark russet seed, 10–12 mm long. The

cotyledon A cotyledon (; ; ; , gen. (), ) is a significant part of the embryo within the seed of a plant, and is defined as "the embryonic leaf in seed-bearing plants, one or more of which are the first to appear from a germinating seed." The num ...

s are unequal.Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk
''Noronhia emarginata''
/ref>Cook Islands Biodiversity
''Noronhia emarginata''
/ref>University of Oxford, Oleaceae information site

/ref>

Cultivation and uses

It is cultivated as an ornamental tree in subtropical and tropical regions, and has become an invasive species in some areas, notably

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

. It is very tough in coastal and seaside locations, and has been successfully used in urban areas where air pollution, poor drainage, compacted soil and/or drought are common. It grows in part shade and in full sun. Soil tolerance is well-drained, acidic or alkaline clay, loam or sand. It has high drought tolerance, high aerosol salt tolerance and moderate soil salt tolerance.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q12064360 emarginata Endemic flora of Madagascar Edible plants Plants described in 1825