Overview
Trees or erect or scandent shrubs. Branches and branchlets lenticellate. Leaves opposite, rarely alternate or whorled, simple, trifoliolate, or pinnately compound, without stipules; venation pinnate or palmate. Inflorescences terminal or axillary, in cymes, panicles, racemes, umbels, or fascicles. Flowers actinomorphic, bisexual, rarely unisexual or polygamous and plants monoecious, dioecious, or polygamodioecious. Calyx 4(-16) -lobed or -parted, rarely absent. Corolla 4(-16) -lobed, sometimes almost free to base, rarely absent; lobes sometimes united in pairs at base or into a very short tube. Stamens 2(-4), inserted on corolla tube or hypogynous; anthers dehiscing longitudinally; pollen 3-colpate or 3-colporate. Ovary superior, 2-loculed; ovules 2 in each locule, sometimes 1 or numerous. Style 1 or absent; stigma 2-lobed or capitate. Fruit a drupe, berry, capsule, or samara. Seeds with straight embryo, with or without endosperm; radicle curved upward or downward.
About 28 genera and over 400 species: tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions of world, but mainly in Asia. China has 10 genera and 160 species (95 endemic) and is the center of diversity for the genera Forsythia, Syringa, Osmanthus, and Ligustrum.
Many genera are important economically: Fraxinus and Forsythia (medicinal, ornamental) ; Jasminum, Osmanthus, and Syringa (spice, ornamental) ; Olea (oil) ; and Fraxinus (timber) .[1]
Taxonomy
The Family Oleaceae is further organized into finer groupings including:
- Subfamily (25): Agapanthoideae · Asteroideae · Bambusoideae · Campanuloideae · Cestroideae · Coliadinae · Coryloideae · Ericoideae · Faboideae · Iridoideae · Isopyroideae · Jasminoideae · Nepetoideae · Oleoideae · Philadelphoideae · Potentilloideae · Pyroideae · Quercoideae · Ranunculoideae · Rhinanthoideae · Rhododendroideae · Tabaninae · Theoideae · Ulmoideae · Vaccinioideae
- Tribe (6): Coreopsideae · Fontanesieae · Forsythieae · Jasmineae · Myxopyreae · Oleeae
- Subtribe (4): Fraxininae · Ligustrinae · Oleinae · Schreberinae
- Genus (91): Abeliophyllum · Amarolea · Apilia · Aplilia · Bigelovia · Bolivaria · Bonamica · Bruschia · Calycomelia · Calyptrospermum · Campanolea · Carpoxis · Cartrema · Ceranthus · Chionanthus · Chondrospermum · Comoranthus · Cylindria · Dekindtia · Dimetra · Enaimon · Esquirolia · Faulia · Fontanesia · Forestiera · Forsoleaco · Forsythia · Fraxinoides · Fraxinus · Geisarina · Gymnelaea · Haenianthus · Haeniantus · Hesperelaea · Jasminum · Keiria · Lasierpa · Leptalix · Leuranthus · Ligustridium · Ligustrina · Ligustrum · Lilac · Liliacum · Linociera · Mayepea · Menodora · Menodoropsis · Minutia · Mogorium · Myxopyrum · Nathusia · Nestegis · Noldeanthus · Noronhia · Notelaea · Nudilus · Nyctanthes · Olea · Ornanthes · Ornus · Osmanthus · Osmarea · Pachyderma · Parasyringa · Parilium · Pausia · Petlomelia · Phillyrea · Phlyarodoxa · Phyllirea · Phyllites · Picconia · Picricarya · Piptolepis · Pogenda · Postuera · Priogymnanthus · Rangium · Rhysospermum · Samarpses · Sarlina · Scabrita · Schrebera · Siphonosmanthus · Steganthus · Stereoderma · Syringa · Tessarandra · Tetrapilus · Visiania
- Species: ZipcodeZoo has pages for 4,119 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in the Family Oleaceae.
Genera
Abeliophyllum
Abeliophyllum (White Forsythia) is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the olive family, Oleaceae. It consists of one species, Abeliophyllum distichum Nakai (Korean Abelialeaf), endemic to Korea, where it is endangered in the wild, occurring at only seven sites. It is related to Forsythia, but differs in having white, not yellow, flowers. [more]
Amarolea
Apilia
Aplilia
Bigelovia
Bolivaria
Bonamica
Bruschia
Calycomelia
Calyptrospermum
Campanolea
Carpoxis
Cartrema
Ceranthus
Chionanthus
Chionanthus (syn. Linociera Sw.) is a genus of about 80 species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae. [more]
Chondrospermum
Comoranthus
Cylindria
Dekindtia
Dimetra
A Genus in the Kingdom Plantae. [more]
Enaimon
Esquirolia
Faulia
Fontanesia
Fontanesia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae, usually treated as comprising a single species Fontanesia philliraeoides, though some authors split this into two species (see below). It is native to southern Europe (Sicily), southwestern Asia (Lebanon, Syria, Turkey) and eastern Asia (China), with two well-separated populations. [more]
Forestiera
Forestiera is a genus of about 20 species of in the olive family, Oleaceae. Plants of this genus are often called swamp-privets. Most are shrubs. [more]
Forsoleaco
Forsythia
Forsythia ( or /f?r'sa??i?/) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae (olive family). There are about 11 species, mostly native to eastern Asia, but one native to southeastern Europe. The common name is also Forsythia; the genus is named after William Forsyth. [more]
Fraxinoides
Fraxinus
Fraxinus () is a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45-65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous though a few subtropical species are evergreen. The tree's common English name, ash, goes back to the Old English ?sc, while the generic name originated in Latin. Both words also meant "spear" in their respective languages. The leaves are opposite (rarely in whorls of three), and mostly pinnately compound, simple in a few species. The seeds, popularly known as keys or helicopter seeds, are a type of fruit known as a samara. Rowans or Mountain Ashes are unrelated to true ashes and belong to the Genus Sorbus though the leaves and buds are superficially similar. [more]
Geisarina
Gymnelaea
Haenianthus
Haeniantus
Hesperelaea
Jasminum
Jasminum (), commonly known as jasmines, is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family (Oleaceae). It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of the Old World. Jasmines are widely cultivated for the characteristic fragrance of their flowers. [more]
Keiria
Lasierpa
Leptalix
Leuranthus
Ligustridium
Ligustrina
Ligustrum
Ligustrum is a genus of about forty species of erect, deciduous or evergreen shrubs, sometimes forming small or medium-sized trees. They are now all known by the common name of privet. [more]
Lilac
Syringa (Lilac) is a genus of about 20?25 species of flowering woody plants in the olive family (Oleaceae), native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and widely and commonly cultivated in temperate areas elsewhere. [more]
Liliacum
Linociera
Chionanthus (), common name: fringetrees, is a genus of about 80 species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae. [more]
Mayepea
Menodora
Menodora is a genus of perennial plants and shrubs in the olive family Oleaceae. Its 23 species (as per Green 2003) are found in the temperate Americas and in southern Africa. These are uniformly species of deserts and arid grasslands or savannas. [more]
Menodoropsis
Minutia
Mogorium
Myxopyrum
Shrubs scandent. Branchlets 4-angled. Leaves opposite, simple, petiolate; leaf blade entire or serrate, prominently 3-veined, glabrous. Inflorescences axillary panicles, many flowered. Flowers small, bisexual. Calyx 4-lobed. Corolla yellow or pink, urceolate with fleshy tube longer than lobes or campanulate with tube shorter than lobes; lobes 4, valvate in bud. Stamens 2, inserted at base of corolla tube; anthers dehiscing longitudinally. Ovules 2 in each locule, ascending. Stigma subsessile, minute, 2-cleft. Fruit a berry, subglobose. Seeds with fleshy or cuticular endosperm; radicle downward.[2] [more]
Nathusia
Nestegis
Nestegis is a genus of flowering plant in the olive family, Oleaceae. There are a small number of species in the genus: three species are endemic to New Zealand, one can be found on New Zealand and Norfolk Island, another is restricted to Hawaii, one in Australia. The name Nestegis derives from the Greek prefix ne- (not) and stegasma (a cover), in allusion to the lack of a corolla in the type species, Nestegis apetala. [more]
Noldeanthus
Noronhia
Noronhia is a genus of 41 species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae, all but one native to Madagascar, the remaining species native to the Comoros Islands north of Madagascar. [more]
Notelaea
Notelaea is a genus of Australian plants of the family Oleaceae. [more]
Nudilus
Nyctanthes
Nyctanthes is a genus of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae, native to southeastern Asia. It is currently accepted as containing two species; other species previously included in this genus have been transferred to other genera, most of them to Jasminum. [more]
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. [more]
Ornanthes
Ornus
Osmanthus
Osmanthus (Osmanthus) is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae, mostly native to warm temperate Asia (from the Caucasus east to Japan) but one species (O. americanus) in North America (southeastern United States, Texas to Virginia). They range in size from shrubs to small trees, 2-12 m tall. The leaves are opposite, evergreen, and simple, with an entire, serrated or coarsely toothed margin. The flowers are produced in spring, summer or autumn, each flower being about 1 cm long, white, with a four-lobed tubular-based corolla ('petals'). The flowers grow in small panicles, and in several species have a strong fragrance. The fruit is a small (10-15 mm), hard-skinned dark blue to purple drupe containing a single seed. [more]
Osmarea
Pachyderma
A Genus in the Kingdom Plantae. [more]
Parasyringa
Parilium
Pausia
Petlomelia
Phillyrea
Phillyrea is a genus of two species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae, native to the Mediterranean region, the Canary Islands and Madeira. [more]
Phlyarodoxa
Phyllirea
Phyllites
Picconia
Picconia (Picconia) is a genus of in the family Oleaceae. [more]
Picricarya
Piptolepis
Pogenda
Postuera
Priogymnanthus
Priogymnanthus is a genus of two species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae native to tropical South America, in Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, and Paraguay. [more]
Rangium
Rhysospermum
Samarpses
Sarlina
Scabrita
Schrebera
Siphonosmanthus
Steganthus
Stereoderma
Syringa
Syringa (Lilac) is a genus of about 20?25 species of flowering woody plants in the olive family (Oleaceae), native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and widely and commonly cultivated in temperate areas elsewhere. [more]
Tessarandra
Tetrapilus
Visiania
At least 4 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Visiania.
More info about the Genus Visiania may be found here.
Bibliography
- Chang Mei-chen, Miao Bo-mao, Lu Rui-ling, & Qiu Lian-qing in: Chang Mei-chen & Qiu Lian-qing, eds. 1992. Oleaceae. Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 61: 1-222.
Footnotes
- Mei-chen Chang, Lien-ching Chiu, Zhi Wei & Peter S. Green "Oleaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 15 Page 272. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.
- "Myxopyrum". in Flora of China Vol. 15 Page 298. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.
Sources
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