img

Olea europaea

L. (1753)

This name is accepted

Kingdom: Viridiplantae Phylum: Magnoliophyta Class/Clade: Eudicot-Asterids Order: Lamiales Family: Oleaceae Genus: Olea

‘oliwa [oliwa], African olive, olive

img

Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Trees to 8–10 m tall with a broad crown, sometimes shrubby.

Stems: Young branches grayish lepidote.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite. Blades narrowly elliptic to oblong or lanceolate, (1–)2–8 cm long, (0.3–)0.5–1.5(–2) cm wide. Apex mucronate. Upper surfaces glabrous; lower surfaces moderately to densely grayish, green, or golden lepidote, covered with peltate glands; blade coriaceous. Margins entire. Petiolate. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers in axillary, decussate panicles shorter than the leaves. Flowers bisexual (perfect), actinomorphic. Calyx small, 4-toothed, valvate. Corolla lobes 4, white, ca. 3.5–4 mm long, induplicate–valvate in bud, shortly connate. Stamens 2, inserted on corolla tube alternate with the lobes; anthers dithecal, oriented back–to–back, opening by longitudinal slits. Ovary superior, 2-carpellate, 2-celled, placentation axile; ovules 2 per cell; stigma capitate or shortly 2-lobed, dry.

Fruit: Drupes green when immature; becoming black or brownish at maturity; subglobose to narrowly ellipsoid; 6–19 mm long.

Ploidy: 2n = 46

Habitat: Dry to mesic; disturbed areas.

Elevation Range:

Historical Distribution

Images

img

Uses and Culture

USES

Natural History

Statewide Status

Naturalized

Island Status

Kaua'i Naturalized
O'ahu Naturalized
Lana'i Naturalized
Maui Naturalized
Hawai'i Naturalized

Dispersal Agents

Birds

Pollinators

Specimens

img
img
img

Bibliography

Name Published In: Sp. Pl.: 8 (1753)

Occurrences

SNo. Scientific Name Locality Habitat Basis of Record Description Recorded By Record Number Island Source Date
1 Olea europaea N. Kona, S edge of the summit of Puuwaawaa Preserved_Specimen tree with silvery foliage Herbst, D.R. 5475 Hawaii BISH 1975-09-23
2 Olea europaea Puu Kalena, Waianae Mts, Waianaeuka By trail. Preserved_Specimen 20ft planted tree. St.John, H. 12947 Oahu BISH 1933-03-12
3 Olea europaea N Kona, ~2.2 km from firing point 710 and Kona Hwy., at SSE angle, ~1.0 km E of military reservation boundary ash, pahoehoe; Myoporum sandwicense, Dodonaea viscosa, Pennisetum setaceum Preserved_Specimen Close, B. 9952 Hawaii BISH 1995-09-13
4 Olea europaea Mauʻumae Ridge Surrounded by Osteomeles anthyllidifolia. Preserved_Specimen Arthur, K. 110 Oahu BISH 2025-06-05
5 Olea europaea S. Kohala District, the flats near Puu Heewai, about 2 miles SE of Keamuku. Tree planted on Parker Ranch Growing in Dodonaea scrub. Preserved_Specimen 12' tall with multi-stemmed base. Sterile. Davis, J. 657 Hawaii BISH 1981-12-03
Back to Top