282 



OF THE SHKIT-S 



Olea. The true OLIVKS arc hardy only South, where they are cultivated 

 for the useful fruit and beautiful flowers; but there are a number of so- 

 called olives belonging to other families of plants, some of which are cul- 

 tivated in all portions of the country. All true olives 

 have opposite thick, evergreen, usually entire-edged 

 leaves and small white 4-lobed flowers in clusters. 

 The stamens, as in the privets and lilacs, are two in 

 number. The fruit-bearing olives are trees rather than 

 shrubs, and are successfully grown only in southern 

 California, etc. There are two species in culti- 

 vation : the European, Olea europ;a, and the 

 African, Olea chrysophylla. The African can 

 be known by the golden color to the sides of the 

 leaves. 



There are several species cultivated 



Fir-. 488. Common Matrimony 

 Vine. 



for Iheir fragrant flowers but produce 

 little or no fruit. These arc more prop- 

 erly thrown into another genus, Os- 

 nianthus. The technical distinction be- 

 tween the two genera is found in the 

 arrangement of the four lobes of the 

 flower. The true Oleas have the lobes 

 just touching at their edges, like the 

 lilacs, while the Osmanthus flowers have 

 their lobes more or less lapping. The 



FIG. 480. Chinese Matrimony 

 Vine. 



finest of these plants and the one often 



cultivated North in hothouses is FUA- 



GRA N-T OLIVE (486) Osmanthus fragrans, an almost continual bloomer 



with small deliciously scented white flowers and opposite sharply toothed 



evergreen leaves. When planted out in the South, where it is hardy, it 



needs a somewhat shaded position, at least free from midday sun. 



There is one species, and the most hardy of all, which has spiny-toothed 



