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, Queensland (Australia), New Guinea, the Philippines, southern China and Taiwan.[3][4][1]
Quick facts Conservation status, Scientific classification ...
| Chionanthus ramiflorus |
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| Flowers and leaves |
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| 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
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| Synonyms[2] |
- Linociera ramiflora (Roxb.) Wall.
- Mayepea ramiflora (Roxb.) F.Muell.
- Chionanthus effusiflorus F.Muell.
- Chionanthus intermedius (Wight) F.Muell.
- Chionanthus macrophyllus (Wall. ex G.Don) Blume
- Chionanthus macrophyllus var. attenuatus (Wall. ex G.Don) K.K.N.Nair & K.P.Janardh.
- Chionanthus palembanicus Miq.
- Chionanthus paniculatus (Roxb.) K.K.N.Nair & K.P.Janardh.
- Chionanthus paniculatus var. roxburghii (Spreng.) K.K.N.Nair & K.P.Janardh.
- Chionanthus pauciflorus (Wall. ex G.Don) Bennet & Raizada
- Chionanthus pauciflorus var. evolutior (C.B.Clarke) K.K.N.Nair & K.P.Janardh.
- Chionanthus pauciflorus var. palembanicus (Miq.) Bennet & Raizada
- Chionanthus picrophloius F.Muell.
- Chionanthus ramiflorus var. grandiflorus B.M.Miao
- Chionanthus ramiflorus var. palembanicus (Miq.) P.Daniel
- Chionanthus ramiflorus var. peninsularis K.Ravik. & Lakshm.
- Chionanthus roxburghii (Spreng.) S.K.Srivast. & S.L.Kapoor
- Chionanthus roxburghii var. intermedius (Wight) S.K.Srivast. & S.L.Kapoor
- Chionanthus tenuiflorus Wall. ex DC.
- Linociera cumingiana S.Vidal
- Linociera effusiflora F.Muell.
- Linociera intermedia Wight
- Linociera intermedia var. roxburghii (Spreng.) C.B.Clarke
- Linociera macrophylla Wall. ex G.Don
- Linociera macrophylla var. attenuata (Wall. ex G.Don) C.B.Clarke
- Linociera oblonga Wall. ex G.Don
- Linociera pauciflora (Wall. ex G.Don) C.B.Clarke
- Linociera pauciflora var. evolutior C.B.Clarke
- Linociera pauciflora var. palembanica (Miq.) C.B.Clarke
- Linociera picrophloia (F.Muell.) F.M.Bailey
- Linociera ramiflora var. grandiflora (B.M.Miao) B.M.Miao
- Linociera ramiflora f. pubisepala L.C.Chia
- Mayepea cumingiana (S.Vidal) Merr.
- Mayepea intermedia (Wight) Kuntze
- Mayepea palembanica (Miq.) Kuntze
- Mayepea pauciflora (Wall. ex G.Don) Kuntze
- Mayepea picrophloia (F.Muell.) F.Muell.
- Olea attenuata Wall. ex G.Don
- Olea floribunda Benth.
- Olea paniculata Roxb.
- Olea pauciflora Wall. ex G.Don
- Olea roxburghiana Schult.
- Olea roxburghii Spreng.
- Phillyrea ramiflora Roxb. ex C.B.Clarke
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Close
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 Newtoniana). (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."[7]
