''Olea'' ( ) is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of about 40 species in the 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 ...

, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Middle East, southern

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, southern

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

, and

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologi ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, genus ''Olea''
/ref> They are

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 ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s and shrubs, with small, opposite, entire leaves. 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 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 The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

region, Africa, southwest Asia, and the Himalayas,Altevista Flora Italiana, Oleastro, ''Olea europaea'' L.
/ref> which is the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

of the genus. The native olive (''O. paniculata'') is a larger tree, attaining a height of 15–18 m in the forests of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, and yielding a hard and tough

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...

. The yet harder wood of the black ironwood ''O. capensis'', an inhabitant of

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

, is important in South Africa. ''Olea'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e of some Lepidoptera species including

double-striped pug The double-striped pug (''Gymnoscelis rufifasciata'') is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is a widespread and common species, being found throughout the Palearctic region, including the Near East and North Africa. This is a variable specie ...

Species

Species accepted: # ''

Olea ambrensis ''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.Perrier - Madagascar # '' Olea borneensis'' Boerl. - Borneo, Philippines # '' Olea brachiata'' (Lour.) Merr. - Guangdong, Hainan, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia, Anambas Islands # ''

Olea capensis ''Olea capensis'', the black ironwood, is an African tree species in the olive family Oleaceae. It is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa: from the east in Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan, south to the tip of South Africa, and west to Cameroon, Sierra ...

'' 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 ''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, opp ...

'' 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 ''Olea paniculata'', commonly known as the native olive, is a plant of the genus ''Olea'' and a relative of the olive. It grows natively in Pakistan and southwestern China (Yunnan) through tropical Asia to Australia (Queensland and New South Wa ...

'' 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 ''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 ...

'' 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 ''Olea welwitschii'', the Elgon teak, is a species of tree in the family Oleaceae. It ranges across parts of subsaharan Africa, from Cameroon in the west to Ethiopia and Kenya in the east, and south to Angola, Zambia, and Mozambique. It is a fore ...

'' (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'' var. ''compactum'' (as ''O. compacta'' Wall. ex G.Don) *''

Nestegis cunninghamii ''Nestegis cunninghamii'', commonly called black maire is a native tree of New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and t ...

'' (Hook.f.) L.A.S.Johnson (as ''O. cunninghamii'' Hook.f.) *'' Noronhia emarginata'' (Lam.) Thouars (as ''O. emarginata'' Lam.) *''

Osmanthus americanus ''Cartrema americana'', commonly called American olive, wild olive, or devilwood, is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to southeastern North America, in the United States from Virginia to Texas, and in Mexico from Nuevo León south to ...

'' (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 Oleaceae genera