Oleaceae (Olive)

 

The Oleaceae contain 25-26 genera and ca. 700 species; one monospecific genus (Hesperelaea) is probably extinct. The family is a nearly cosmopolitan in distribution; absent from the Arctic and the Antarctica. The major centers of diversity are in tropical and temperate Asia, and Australia. The Oleaceae grow in a variety of forested habitats, ranging from temperate to tropical, moist to arid. Mainly trees and shrubs; a few are lianas. The leaves are deciduous or evergreen, with entire, serrate, or dentate margins; simple, pinnate or trifoliate; usually opposite, sometimes alternate, or whorled. The flowers are actinomorphic, with four sepals, and four white (rarely yellow) petals, often fused in a tube; usually fragrant. The fruit is a berry, drupe, capsule, or samara. The familiar species include the olive (Olea europaea), ashes (Fraxinus spp.), Lilac (Syringa vulgaris), jasmines (Jasminum spp.), privets (Ligustrum spp.), etc.

 

		White Ash (Fraxinus americana)
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