Chionanthus ramiflorus

Chionanthus ramiflorus (syn. Linociera ramiflora (Roxb.) Wall.), commonly known as northern olive or native olive, is a species of shrubs and trees, of the flowering plant family Oleaceae. They grow naturally in India, Nepal, northeastern Australia (Queensland), New Guinea, the Philippines, southern China and Taiwan.[2][3][1]

Chionanthus ramiflorus
Flowers and leaves

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

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.[2][4]

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.[5]

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."[6]

References
  1. World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1998). Linociera ramiflora
  2. Chang et al. (2008) Flora of China. Online "Chionanthus ramiflorus". Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  3. "Chionanthus ramiflorus Roxb.". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  4. Hyland, B. P. M.; Whiffin, T.; Zich, F. A.; et al. (Dec 2010). "Factsheet – Chionanthus ramiflorus". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants (6.1, online version RFK 6.1 ed.). Cairns, Australia: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), through its Division of Plant Industry; the Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research; the Australian Tropical Herbarium, James Cook University. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  5. Chang et al. (2008) Flora of China. Online "Chionanthus". Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  6. J. H. Maiden (1889). The useful native plants of Australia : Including Tasmania. Turner and Henderson, Sydney.

Cited works
  • Chang, Mei-chen; Chiu, Lien-ching; Wei, Zhi; Green, Peter S. (2008) [1992]. Wu, Z. Y.; Raven, P. H. (eds.). "Oleaceae; Chionanthus ramiflorus". Flora of China. Online version (print version). eFloras.org. Beijing and St. Louis, MO: Science Press and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Retrieved 26 June 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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