Olea

Olea is a genus of about 20 species in the family Oleaceae, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of southern Europe, Africa, southern Asia and Australasia. They are evergreen trees and shrubs, with small, opposite, entire leaves. The fruit is a drupe.

For humans, the most important species is by far the Olive (Olea europaea), native to the Mediterranean region. 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. laurifolia, an inhabitant of Natal, is important in South Africa.

Olea species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species.


Selected species
Olea europaea - The Olive is a species of small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean region, from Lebanon, Syria and the maritime parts of Asia Minor and northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea. Its fruit, the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the Mediterranean region as the source of olive oil.

Olea capensis is an African tree species belonging to the olive family (Oleaceae). Olea capensis is widespread in Africa, ranging west to Cameroon north to Sudan and Somalia, east to the Indian Ocean, and south to South Africa. It is known by a variety of common names, including Ysterhout, Black Ironwood, Small Ironwood, East African Olive, Elgon Olive, Ironwood, Ironwood Olive, Loliondo, Mushargi, Loliondo, Mutharage, and Mutharagi. The wood of the tree is very hard, fine grained, and heavy, and although difficult to work, it is widely used for art and artefacts.

Olea laurifolia (Black Ironwood) is a species of flowering plant belonging to the olive family Oleaceae. It is native to KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. The Guinness Book of World Records lists this tree as the world's heaviest wood, with a specific gravity of 1.49. The timber has a good abrasion resistance and is very strong. It is an excellent turnery wood and is used for a wide range of decorative items.

Olea hainanensis

Olea neriifolia

Olea undulata

Olea caudatilimba

Olea salicifolia

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