| Oleaceae | ||||||||||||
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 Olive (Olea europaea) | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||
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| Genera | ||||||||||||
| 24 living, 1 recently extinct; see text |
Oleaceae, the olives and relatives, is a plant family containing 24 extant genera of woody plants (and one recently extinct), including shrubs, trees and vines. They are characterised by opposite leaves that may be simple or pinnately-compound. The calyx and corolla are four-lobed.
Many members of the family are economically significant. The olive proper (Olea europaea) is extremely important for its fruit and the oil extracted from it. The ashes, genus Fraxinus, are valued for their tough wood, and forsythia, lilacs, jasmines, privets, and fringetrees are all valued as landscaping plants.
Genera
- Abeliophyllum – White Forsythia
- Chionanthus – fringetrees
- Comoranthus
- Dimetra
- Fontanesia
- Forestieria – swamp-privets
- Forsythia – forsythias
- Fraxinus – ash trees
- Haenianthus
- Hesperelaea (extinct)
- Jasminum – jasmines
- Ligustrum – privets
- Menodora
- Myxopyrum
- Nestegis
- Noronhia
- Notelaea
- Nyctanthes
- Olea – olive trees
- Osmanthus – osmanthus
- Phillyrea – mock-privets
- Picconia
- Priogymnanthus
- Schrebera
- Syringa – lilacs