Olea (/ˈoʊliə/ OH-lee-ə[3]) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae. It includes 12 species native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Middle East, southern Europe, Africa, southern Asia, and Australasia.[2] They are evergreen trees and shrubs, with small, opposite, entire leaves. The fruit is a drupe. Leaves of Olea contain trichosclereids.[4]
| Olea | |
|---|---|
| |
| Olea europaea (Olive), Lisbon, Portugal | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Oleaceae |
| Tribe: | Oleeae |
| Subtribe: | Oleinae |
| Genus: | Olea L. (1753)[1] |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
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,[5][6] which is the type species of the genus. The 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 black ironwood O. capensis, an inhabitant of Natal, is important in South Africa.[citation needed]
Olea species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including double-striped pug. [citation needed]
Species
edit12 species are currently accepted:[2]
- Olea capensis L. – Small Ironwood – Comoros, Madagascar; Africa from South Africa north to Ethiopia, Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, etc.
- Olea capitellata Ridl. – Pahang
- Olea chimanimani Kupicha – Chimanimani Mountains of Mozambique and Zimbabwe
- Olea europaea L. – Olive – Mediterranean, Africa, southwestern Asia, Himalayas; naturalized many other places
- Olea exasperata Jacq. – South Africa
- Olea lancea Lam. – Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion, Rodrigues Island
- Olea luzonica Kiew – Philippines (Luzon)
- Olea paniculata R.Br. – Yunnan, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Kashmir, Malaysia, Nepal, New Guinea, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, New Caledonia, Vanuatu
- Olea puberula Ridl. – Peninsular Malaysia
- Olea schliebenii Knobl. – Tanzania
- Olea welwitschii (Knobl.) Gilg & G.Schellenb. – central and eastern Africa from Ethiopia to Zimbabwe
- Olea woodiana Knobl. – South Africa, Eswatini, Kenya, Tanzania
Formerly placed here
edit- 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 (G. Don) P.S.Green (as O. aquifolium Siebold & Zucc. or O. ilicifolia Siebold ex Hassk.)
- Tetrapilus borneensis (Boerl.) de Juana (as Olea borneensis Boerl.)
- Tetrapilus brachiatus Lour. (as Olea brachiata (Lour.) Merr.)
- Tetrapilus rubrovenius (Elmer) L.A.S.Johnson (as Olea rubrovenia (Elmer) Kiew)
- Tetrapilus tsoongii (Merr.) de Juana (as Olea tsoongii (Merr.) P.S.Green and Olea yuennanensis Hand.-Mazz.)
- List source :[7]
References
edit
- ^ GRIN (April 4, 2006). "Olea information from NPGS/GRIN". Taxonomy for Plants. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland: USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved May 20, 2011.
- ^ a b c Olea L. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
- ^ Sunset Western Garden Book. 1995. pp. 606–607.
- ^ Flora of China v 15 p 295, 木犀榄属 mu xi lan shu, Olea Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 7. 1753.
- ^ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, Olea europaea L.
- ^ Altevista Flora Italiana, Oleastro, Olea europaea L.
- ^ GRIN. "Species in GRIN for genus Olea". Taxonomy for Plants. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland: USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2011.