Species

Olea europaea subsp. europaea

Common Name(s)

European olive

Authority

Olea europaea L. subsp. europaea

Family

Oleaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Exotic

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

Flowering

Sep-Dec in NZ

Flower Colours

White

Year Naturalised

1970

Origin

E Afr to S Afr

Reason for Introduction

Olives as food

Reason For Introduction

Agricultural.

Reproduction

Seed. Some of the common cultivated varieties like Manzanillo and Kalamata are derived from O. europaea subsp. europaea so can set prolific amounts of large fruit.

Dispersal

Birds.

Attribution

Cameron, Ewen K 2017. Naturalised African olives (Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata) in New Zealand. Auckland Botanical Soc. Journal 72(1): 71-76.

This page last updated on 3 Feb 2019