Interesting Facts
Description
Family Oleaceae
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
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Plantae
()
- Haeckel, 1866
- Plants
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
()
- Cavalier-Smith, 1981
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
()
- Sinnott, 1935 ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Vascular Plants
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
()
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
()
- Kenrick & Crane, 1997
- Class:
Magnoliopsida
()
- Brongniart, 1843
- Dicotyledons
- Class:
Magnoliopsida
(
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
(
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
(
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
(
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
Similar Species
Members of the genus Noronhia
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 1 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:
N. emarginata (Madagascar Olive)
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
- 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.
Notes
Contributors
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 15, 2012.
Data Sources
Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 26, 2007:
- Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri Botanical Garden
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 9156072
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 16246694
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 2070546
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. [back]
