Olea americana, 
THE AMERICAN OLIVE-TREE. 
Synonymes. 
Olea americana, 
Olivier d'Amerique, 
Amerikanischer Oehlbaum, 
Olivo americano, 
American Olive-tree, 
American Olive-tree, Devil-wood, 
LiNNiEtrs, Mantissa. 
[ Michaux, North American Sylva. 
Loudon, Arboretum Britannicum. 
France. 
Germany. 
Italy. 
Britain. 
United States. 
Engravings. Michaux, North American Sylva, pi. 86; Loudon, Arboretum Britannicum, ii., fig. 1031: and the fieurei 
Below. 
Specific Characters. Leaves elliptic-lanceolate. Bractes all persistent, connate, ovate. Racemes sub- 
compound, narrow. Loudon, Enc. of Plants. 
Description. 
HE Olea americana is a 
large evergreen shrub or 
low tree, sometimes grow- 
ing to a height of thirty 
or thirty-rive feet, with a trunk ten or twelve 
inches in diameter; but usually it does not attain 
one half of these dimensions. The bark which cov- 
ers the trunk is smooth, and of a grayish colour. 
The leaves are four or five inches long, opposite, 
entire, smooth, and brilliant on the upper surfaces, 
and of an agreeable light-green. The fertile and 
barren flowers grow on separate trees. They are 
very small, strongly scented, of a pale-yellow col- 
our, and axillary. They put forth at St. Mary's, 
in Georgia, by the last of March, and a month later 
in Virginia. The fruit, which is round, is about the 
size of a small grape, of a purple colour, approach- 
ing to blue, and contains a hard stone, thinly coated 
with pulp. It ripens in October, and remains attached to the branches during a 
part of the winter, forming an agreeable contrast with the light-green leaves. 
Geography, fyc. The Olea americana, which belongs exclusively to the south- 
ern states of the American union, is not often found north of Norfolk, in Virginia ; 
and, like the live oak and cabbage-tree, is confined almost exclusively to tin 
sea-shore. It grows in soils and exposures extremely variable. In the maritime 
parts of Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, it springs up with the live oak in the 
most barren spots; and in other places it is associated with the Magnolia grandi- 
flora, umbrella-tree, &c, in cool, fertile, and shady situations. This tree was 
introduced into Britain in 1758, and is considerably more hardy than the Euro- 
pean olive. It is said there is a very handsome flourishing plant againsl the wall 
of the arboretum of Messrs. Loddiges, at Hackney, which receives no protection 
whatever. It may be propagated by layers, by seeds, or by cuttings. 
