''Olea woodiana'', known commonly as the forest olive or black ironwood (

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

: ''Bosolienhout''), is an African tree species belonging to the olive family (

Oleaceae Oleaceae, also known as the olive family, is a taxonomic family of flowering shrubs, trees, and a few lianas in the order Lamiales, It presently comprises 28 genera, one of which is recently extinct.Peter S. Green. 2004. "Oleaceae". pages 2 ...

). The tree grows in lower altitude hill forests from

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

, Eswatini, and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

Description

''Olea woodiana'' is a medium-sized to tall tree. The axillary or terminal inflorescences carry small white flowers that are fragrant.Encyclopedia of Life treatment: 'Olea woodiana''
. accessed 2.2.2013 Fruit are produced from late summer. They are oval-shaped and ripen to a purple black colour, when they are consumed by birds.

Subspecies

There are two recognized subspecies:Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families ''Olea woodiana''
/ref> *''Olea woodiana'' subsp. ''disjuncta'' – Kenya, Tanzania *''Olea woodiana'' subsp. ''woodiana'' – Eswatini, South Africa

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2156000 woodiana Trees of Africa Flora of East Tropical Africa Flora of Southern Africa Bird food plants Plants described in 1893