| 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] | |
| |
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]
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]
- ^ 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 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.