46 



OLEIN.&. II. PHILLYREA. III. OLEA. 



drooping. J? . H. Native of the south of Europe. P. media, 

 y, Willd. spec. 1. p. 43. 



Drooping Phillyrea. Fl. May, June. Clt. 1597. Shrub 

 10-15 feet. 



5 P. OLEJEFOLIA (Ait. hort. kew. 1. p. 11.) leaves oblong- 

 lanceolate, almost quite entire, obtuse, narrowed at the base, 

 veiny. Tj . H. Native of the south of Europe. P. media, d, 

 Ait. hort. kew. 1. p. 11. P. racemosa, Link, jahrb. 1. p. 160. 

 Plukn. t. 310. f. 5. Branches erectish. 



Olive-leaved Phillyrea. Fl. May, June. Clt. 1597. Shrub 

 10-15 feet. 



6 P. L.E'VIS (Ait. hort. kew. 1. p. 12.) leaves elliptic-oblong, 

 almost entire, veiny, bluntish. Jj . H. Native of the south of 

 Europe, and north of Africa. P. latifolia, var. a, Willd. spec. 1. 

 p. 43. Lob. icon. 132. f. 2. Duh. arb. t. 125. P. latifolia, 

 Mill. diet. no. 1. Leaves an inch or more long, a little narrowed 

 at the base, blunt, with a small mucrone at the apex. 



Smooth Phillyrea. Fl. May, June. Clt. 1597. Shrub 10 

 to 20 feet. 



7 P. LATIFOLIA (Lin. spec. 10.) leaves ovate, rounded at the 

 base, serrated, veiny. I? . H. Native of the south of Europe. 

 Smith, fl. graec. t. 2. P. latifolia, ft. serrata, Poll. fl. ver. 1. p. 

 7. P. latifolia, ft, Ten. fl. nap. 3. p. 6. P. spinosa, Ten. syll. 

 p. 9. no. 2. P. latifolia, ft, spinosa, Seg. ver. 2. p. 273. Young 

 leaves subcordate at the base. 



Broad-leaved Phillyrea. Fl. May, June. Clt. 1597. Tree 

 28 to 30 feet. 



8 P. OBLIQUA (Ait. hort. kew. 1. p. 12.) leaves lanceolate- 

 oblong, serrated, acute at both ends, veiny, bent obliquely. 

 Tj . H. Native of the south of Europe. P. latifolia, y, Willd. 

 spec. 1. p. 43. P. coriacea, Link, jahrb. 1. p. 155. Phillyrea, 

 ii. Clus. hist. 1. c. Leaves like those of Myrica. 



Oblique-leaved Phillyrea. Fl. May, June. Clt. 1597. Shrub 

 10 to 20 feet. 



9 P. SPINOSA (Mill. diet. no. 3. Ait. hort. kew. 1. p. 12.) 

 leaves ovate-oblong, rounded at the base, acute, sharply and 

 cuspidately serrated, glabrous, flat, veiny. Tj . H. Native of 

 the south of Europe. P. ilicifolia, Willd. enum. 1. p. 13. P. 

 latifolia, ft, spinosa, Willd. spec. 1. p. 43. P. latifolia, longi- 

 folia, Link, jahrb. 1. p. 54. Phillyrea, i. Clus. hist. 51. Pluk. 

 phyt. t. 310. f. 4. 



Spiny or Holly-leaved Phillyrea. Fl. May, June. Clt. 1597. 

 Shrub 10 to 20 feet. 



10 P. sTBiciA (Bertol. fl. ital. p. 43.) leaves all flat, elliptic; 

 superior ones bluntly serrated ; extreme branches twiggy ; 

 racemes dense-flowered, drooping ; peduncles shorter than the 

 leaves ; drupe obtuse, umbilicate. ^ . H. Native of Bononia. 

 P. latifolia, Maur. cat. 1 3. p. 36. P. latifolia, Ten. fl. nap. 3. 

 p. 6. syll. p. 9. no. 1. 



Straight Phillyrea. Shrub. 



Cult. The species of this genus were cultivated very early 

 in our gardens ; these were formerly either planted against 

 walls, to which they were trained, to cover them ; or, if 

 they were placed as standards, their branches were clipped into 

 various forms, like other evergreen trees of that day ; but they 

 are now used to form clumps in parks, to plant round the borders 

 of woods, or to stand singly on lawns, where they have a very 

 fine effect in winter, when other trees are destitute of leaves. 

 They are generally increased by layering down branches in 

 autumn. 



III. O'LEA (tXata, elaia, the olive, which is itself, from 

 \etos, lews, smooth. Olea is commonly used for the tree ; 

 Oliva for the fruit ; and Oleum for the oil of the fruit ; but this 

 is not constant.) Tourn. in=t. t. 370. Lin. gen. no. 20. 

 Vaill. mem. par. 1722. Juss. gen. 105. Gaertn. fruct. 1. t. 



93. Lam. ill. 1. t. 8. Vent. tabl. 2. p. 312. and 4. p. 101. t. 

 9. f. 1. 



LIN. SYST. Didndria, Monogy'nia. Calyx small, tubular, 

 4-toothed, permanent. Corolla funnel-shaped, with a short 

 tube, and 4 ovate segments, deciduous. Stamens 2, a little ex- 

 serted. Style short ; stigma bifid, with emarginate or entire 

 segments. Drupe containing a 1-2-celled, 1-2-seeded, oblong 

 nut ; one of the cells often abortive. Albumen fleshy. Ever- 

 green trees, with opposite leaves ; and axillary and terminal 

 panicles of small white flowers. 



1 O. OLEA'STER (Hoffmansegg, fl. port. 1. p. 387.) leaves ob- 

 long, mucronate, quite entire, hoary beneath while young ; 

 branches spinescent. Ij . F. Native of Portugal, in the vicinity 

 of Lisbon, and other parts of that kingdom ; south of France, 

 Spain, and Italy. O. Europae'a, var. a, Lin. spec. 1. p. 11. Vahl. 

 enum. 1. p. 44. Sibth. et Smith, fl. graec. 1. t. 3. Stev. and 

 Church, med. bot. 1. t. 15. O. Europae'a communis, Ait. hort. 

 kew. 1. p. 13. Lin. hort. cliff. 4. O. sylvestris, Mill. diet. no. 3. 

 Blackvv. icon. t. 213. Branches rather quadrangular, hoary. 

 Leaves green above, and with a few scattered scales beneath. 

 The leaves are shorter and stiffer than the cultivated olive ; and 

 the fruit small, and of no value. 



Wild Olive. Fl. June, Aug. Clt. 1821. Shrub 4 to 5 feet. 



2 O. SAT!VA (Hoffmansegg. fl. port. 1. p. 388.) leaves lanceo- 

 late, mucronate, quite entire, hoary beneath ; branches angular, 

 but not spinescent. lj . H. Native of the south of Europe. 

 O. Europae'a, Lin. spec. 1. p. 11. Vahl. enum. 1. p. 39. Brot. 

 fl. lus. 1. p. 10. All. pedem. 1. p. 121. no. 449. Wulf. in 

 Rcem. arch. 3. p. 311. Woodv. med. bot. p. 369. t. 136. 

 Plenck, icon. t. 11. O. Europae'a longifolia, Lodcl. bot. cab. 456. 

 O. lancifolia, Moanch. O. polymorpha, Risso. Leaves long-lan- 

 ceolate, green above ; and hoary from small scales beneath. 



The cultivated olive is said to have come originally from Asia, 

 and grows abundantly about Aleppo and Lebanon. It is natu- 

 ralized in different parts of the south of France, Spain, and Italy ; 

 and is found in hedges and woods. The var. longifolia is 

 that chiefly cultivated in the south of France and Italy ; var. 

 latifolia is chiefly cultivated in Spain ; its fruit is near twice the 

 size of the common Olive of Provence or Italy, but the oil is so 

 rank of flavour as to be too strong for most English palates. 

 The oil, and fruit in a pickled state, are chiefly from Languedoc. 

 Leghorn, and Naples, to England ; the best oil is from Leghorn, 

 and the best pickles from Genoa and Marseilles. The tree is 

 branchy, and of so great longevity, that some plantations in 

 Italy, as at Terne, are supposed to have existed from the time 

 of Pliny. It delights in schistous, calcareous steeps, and 

 does not thrive in elevated situations, or at a distance from the 

 sea. The best oil is produced from fruit grown in calcareous 

 soils. Olive oil may be said to form the cream and butter of 

 Spain and Italy ; and the tree has been celebrated in all ages, as 

 the bounteous gift of heaven, and as the emblem of peace and 

 plenty. In Gibbon's Decline and Fall, chap. i. he quotes Pliny 

 for the following fact. The Olive, in the Western World, 

 followed the progress of peace, of which it was considered as 

 the symbol. Two centuries after the formation of Rome, both 

 Italy and Africa were strangers to that useful plant ; it was 

 naturalized in those countries, and at length carried into the 

 heart of Spain and Gaul. Its usefulness, the little culture it 

 requires, and the otherwise barren situations which it renders 

 productive, quickly spread it over the western face of the 

 Appenines. The suckers are removed from the parent tree at 

 all seasons, but is best done in spring and autumn, when the 

 grounds are ploughed, and sometimes if the trees are thinly 

 scattered, sown with corn and lupines, otherwise the earth is 

 merely loosened round the roots, and, in some cases, manure is 

 then laid round them. The young Olive plant bears at 2 years 



