Chionanthus ramiflorus

Chionanthus ramiflorus, commonly known in Australia as northern olive or native olive, is a species of plant in the olive family Oleaceae. It is native to India, Nepal, northeastern Australia (Queensland), New Guinea, the Philippines, southern China and Taiwan.^[3][4][1]

Chionanthus ramiflorus
Flowers and leaves
Conservation status
Data Deficient  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Oleaceae
Genus:	Chionanthus
Species:	C. ramiflorus
Binomial name
Chionanthus ramiflorus Roxb.
Synonyms[2]
Synonyms list Linociera ramiflora (Roxb.) Wall. (1831) Mayepea ramiflora (Roxb.) F.Muell. (1883) Chionanthus effusiflorus F.Muell. (1864) Chionanthus intermedius (Wight) F.Muell. (1863) Chionanthus macrophyllus (Wall. ex G.Don) Blume (1851) Chionanthus macrophyllus var. attenuatus (Wall. ex G.Don) K.K.N.Nair & K.P.Janardh. (1981) Chionanthus palembanicus Miq. (1861) Chionanthus paniculatus (Roxb.) K.K.N.Nair & K.P.Janardh. (1981), nom. illeg. Chionanthus paniculatus var. roxburghii (Spreng.) K.K.N.Nair & K.P.Janardh. (1981), nom. illeg. Chionanthus pauciflorus (Wall. ex G.Don) Bennet & Raizada (1981) Chionanthus pauciflorus var. evolutior (C.B.Clarke) K.K.N.Nair & K.P.Janardh. (1981) Chionanthus pauciflorus var. palembanicus (Miq.) Bennet & Raizada (1981) Chionanthus picrophloius F.Muell. (1863) Chionanthus ramiflorus var. grandiflorus B.M.Miao (1987) Chionanthus ramiflorus var. palembanicus (Miq.) P.Daniel (1982) Chionanthus ramiflorus var. peninsularis K.Ravik. & Lakshm. (1989 publ. 1992) Chionanthus roxburghii (Spreng.) S.K.Srivast. & S.L.Kapoor (1981), nom. illeg. Chionanthus roxburghii var. intermedius (Wight) S.K.Srivast. & S.L.Kapoor (1981) Chionanthus tenuiflorus Wall. ex DC. (1844), pro syn. Linociera cumingiana S.Vidal (1885) Linociera effusiflora F.Muell. (1864) Linociera intermedia Wight (1848) Linociera intermedia var. roxburghii (Spreng.) C.B.Clarke (1882) Linociera macrophylla Wall. ex G.Don (1837) Linociera macrophylla var. attenuata (Wall. ex G.Don) C.B.Clarke (1882) Linociera oblonga Wall. ex G.Don (1837) Linociera pauciflora (Wall. ex G.Don) C.B.Clarke (1882) Linociera pauciflora var. evolutior C.B.Clarke (1882) Linociera pauciflora var. palembanica (Miq.) C.B.Clarke (1882) Linociera picrophloia (F.Muell.) F.M.Bailey (1883) Linociera ramiflora var. grandiflora (B.M.Miao) B.M.Miao (1992) Linociera ramiflora f. pubisepala L.C.Chia (1955) Mayepea cumingiana (S.Vidal) Merr. (1904) Mayepea intermedia (Wight) Kuntze (1891) Mayepea palembanica (Miq.) Kuntze (1891) Mayepea pauciflora (Wall. ex G.Don) Kuntze (1891) Mayepea picrophloia (F.Muell.) F.Muell. (1883) Olea attenuata Wall. ex G.Don (1837) Olea floribunda Benth. (1843) Olea paniculata Roxb. (1820), nom. illeg. Olea pauciflora Wall. ex G.Don (1837) Olea roxburghiana Schult. (1822) Olea roxburghii Spreng. (1822) Phillyrea ramiflora Roxb. ex C.B.Clarke (1882)

They grow as evergreen shrubs or trees to 3–23 m (10–75 ft) tall. The leaves are 8–20 cm (3–8 in) long and 4–7 cm (1.6–2.8 in) broad, simple ovate to oblong-elliptic, with a 2–5 cm (0.8–2.0 in) petiole. The flowers are white or yellow, produced in panicles 2.5–12 cm (1.0–4.7 in) long. The fruit is a blue-black drupe 1.5–3 cm (0.6–1.2 in) long and 0.5–2.2 cm (0.2–0.9 in) diameter.^[3][5]

Sometimes the species is treated in the segregate genus Linociera, though this does not differ from Chionanthus in any character other than leaf persistence, not a taxonomically significant character.^[6]

The 1889 book 'The Useful Native Plants of Australia' records that "The fruit of this plant is the food of the jagged-tailed bower-bird (Preonodura Neivtoniana). (Bailey.) This observation is interesting, and is the more valuable in that the vegetable foods of our indigenous fauna have very rarely been botanically determined. This plant is not endemic to Australia. Queensland."^[7]