Tree to 30 m high, trunk to 90 cm wide, branches with conspicuous lenticels. Leaves opposite, ovate to elliptic, usually 5-10 cm long, margins entire, upper surface glossy green, lower surface paler and with small hollow domatia along midvein. Many flowered panicles, 4-10 cm long. Bluish-black oblong fruit to 12 mm.
Foliage. Photo: Robert Whyte
Genus
Olea is a genus of about 20 species in the family Oleaceae. For humans, the most important species is by far the olive Olea europaea, native to the Mediterranean region. O. paniculata is a larger tree, attaining a height of 15-30 m in the forests of Queensland, and yielding a hard and tough timber.
Photo: Robert Whyte
