Olea capensis

Black ironwood
In Cape Town
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Oleaceae
Genus: Olea
Species:
O. capensis
Binomial name
Olea capensis
Synonyms[3]
  • Olea laurifolia Lam.

Olea capensis, the black ironwood,[4] 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 Leone and the islands of the Gulf of Guinea, as well as Madagascar and the Comoros.[2] It occurs in bush, littoral scrub and evergreen forest.[5]

Other common names in English include ironwood, ironwood olive, East African olive and Elgon olive.[5]

O. c. subsp. macrocarpa, like all subspecies of black ironwood, can reach enormous proportions in the wild.
  1. ^ Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI).; IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group (2020). "Olea capensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T61919282A146444162. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T61919282A146444162.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Olea capensis". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  3. ^ "Olea laurifolia Synonym", World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP), Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, retrieved 4 September 2021
  4. ^ "Olea capensis". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Olea capensis" (PDF). World Agroforestry Centre. Retrieved 4 August 2017.