451 
O L 
terminating, racemes, on fnort pedicels. Filaments flat. 
Antherae lateral, two on each filament. Styles two, thick, 
awl-(haped, embracing the germen with their dilated bafe. 
Ofheck mentions it as one of the ornamental trees in 
the Chinefe gardens. He fays it is about fix yards high ; 
with (mall, white, fweet-fcented, flowers, three or four in 
one involucre. Native of Cochin-china, China, and Japan. 
It is chiefly valuable for the fragrance of its flowers, which 
to the eye are but infignificant. The flowers of this plant, 
and of Chleran thus inconfpicuus, are both laid to be added 
to the tea in China, to improve its flavour. Some have 
gone fo far as to aflert that the peculiar flavour of tea is 
altogether owing to thefe additions ; but this appears to 
be very improbable. Botanical Mag. No. 316. 
Species from New Holland. Note! tea. 
8. Olea longifolia, the long-leaved New-Holland olive : 
leaves lanceolate, reticulated with veins on both Tides; 
more or lefs downy, without dots beneath; fegmentsof the 
calyx unequal ; ftigma divided. Native of Port Jackfon, 
New' South Wales, from whence it was procured for Kew- 
garden, by fir J. Banks, in 1790. It is kept in the green- 
houfe, and flowers from March to July. The ftem is 
ihrubby, with numerous round branches ? downy when 
young. Leaves oppofite, rigid, lanceolate, entire, often 
wavy, tapering at each end, various in breadth, from three 
to fix inches long, veiny ; clothed with fine loft down, 
for the mod part, on the under fide ; roughilh, rarely 
downy, above. Clufters axillary, folitary, fimple, about 
an inch long when in flower, aftemards much more; 
fiometimes crowded about the ends of the branches with 
fewer or fmaller leaves; petals yellowilh-white; fruit 
about half-an inch long. 
9. Olea punftata, the dotted-leaved New-Holland olive: 
leaves lanceolate, tapering at the bafe; veiny above; 
fmooth and very thickly dotted, with obfoletc veins be¬ 
neath. Gathered by Mr. Brown in the tropical part of 
‘New-Holland. 
10. Olea ovata, the ovate New-Holland olive: leaves 
ovate, finooth, without dots ; fegments of the calyx equal; 
ftigma feflile, undivided. Gathered by Mr. Brown near 
Port Jackfon. The leaves are three or four inches long, 
and above one broad, entire, acute at each end, coriaceous, 
fmooth, the tranfverfe veins raeft yifible beneath. Cluf¬ 
ters axillary, of but few, and rather large, white flowers ; 
each duller about an inch long, or equal to the footftalks. 
it. Olea liguftrina, the privet-leaved New-Holland 
olive : leaves lanceolate, narrow, elongated, (Talked, very 
fmooth; fimple in the margin; dotted beneath; veins 
obfolete on both fides. Native of Van Diemen’s Land. 
Sent to Kew by P. G. King, efq. in 1807. It is kept in 
the green-houfe, flowering in July and Auguft. 
11. Olea microcarpa, the fmall-fruited New-Holland 
olive: leaves linear-lanceolate, elongated, tapering at the 
bafe, nearly feflile, very fmooth ; (lightly dotted beneath ; 
manifeftly veiny above. Native of the tropical part of 
New Holland. 
13. Olea fylveftris, the wild olive. See El/f.agnus. 
14. Olea Barbadenfis, the Barbadoes wild olive. See 
Bontia. 
j 3. Olea Malabarica. See Melia. 
Propagation and Culture. The olive will grow in al- 
ir.o(i any foil; but, when it is planted in rich moifl ground, 
the tree grows larger, and makes a finer appearance, than 
in poor land ; yet the oil is not fo good as in a leaner foil. 
Calcareous ground is efteemed the bed (or thefe trees ; the 
oil being finer, and keeping longer, than in any other. 
Accordingly, we commonly find the olive in the fouth of 
Europe, on white marl or potter’s-clay, or on limeflone- 
rock, in mountainous (ituations, unfit for vines. Virgil’s 
direction correfponds: 
Difficiles primum terrte, collefque maligni. 
Tenuis ubi afgilla, & dumoiis calculus arvis, 
Palladia gaudent lylva vivacis olivae 
E A. 
Indicio efl, traftu furgens deader eodem 
Plurimus, et ftrati baccis fylveflribus agri. Geor. n. 
Stubborn lands and unkindly hills, where the foil is a pot¬ 
ter’s-clay mixed with pebbles, and producing only bullies, 
are adapted to the olive, which is a long-lived flow-grow¬ 
ing tree. That fuch lands are congenial to this tree is 
evident from the abundance of wild olives that fpring 
in them, and the quantity of berries flrewed over them. 
It tnay be remarked that argilln is not common clay, but 
white potter’s-clay ; as appears from Columella : “ Creta, 
qua utuntur figuli, quamque nonnulli argil/am vocant, 
inimiciflima efl viti, nec minus jejuna fabulo.” It may be 
remarked farther, that creta is never put for chalk, of 
which there is none in Italy, but for this potter’s-clay, or 
a fort of white marl. 
Virgil, Cato, and Columella, recommend the propaga¬ 
tion of the olive by truncheons as the bed method ; and 
Virgil affirms that everj pieces of the trunk will grow. In 
England the olive maybe propagated by laying down the 
tender branches, (in the manner praftifed for other trees,) 
which fhould remain undidurbed two years; in which 
time they will have put out roots, and may then be taken 
oft’ from the old plants, and tranfplanted either into pots 
filled with frefli light earth, or into the open ground in a 
warm (ituation. The bed feafon for tranfplanting is the 
beginning of April ; when you fliould, if poflible," take 
the opportunity of a moid feafon ; and thole which are 
planted in pots, fliould be placed in a fltady part of the 
green-houfe until they have taken root; but thofe planted 
in the ground fliould have mulch laid about their roots, 
to prevent the earth from drying too fad, and be now-ar.d- 
then refreflied with water; but you mud by no means let 
them have too much moiffure, which will rot the tender 
fibres of their roots, and deffroy the trees. When the 
plants have taken frefli root, thofe in the pots may be ex- 
pofed to the open air, with other hardy exotics, with which 
they fliould be houfed in winter, and treated as myrtles, 
and other lefs-tender trees and fhrubs; but thofe in the 
open air will require no farther'tare until the winter fol¬ 
lowing, when you fliould mulch the ground about their 
roots, to prevent the (rod from penetrating deep into it; 
and, if the froff fliould prove very fevere, you fliould cover 
them with mats, which will defend them from being in¬ 
jured thereby; but you mud be cautious not to let the 
mats continue over them after the frod is pad, led, by 
keeping them too clofe, their leaves and tender branches 
fliould turn mouldy for want of free air; which will be of 
as bad confequence to the trees, as if they had been ex- 
pofed to the frod, and many times worfe ; for it feldoni 
happens, if they have taken much of this mould, or have 
been long covered, fo that it has entered the bark, that 
they are ever recoverable again ; whereas it often happens, 
that the frod only dedroys the tender (hoots; but the 
body and larger branches, remaining unhurt, put out 
again the fucceeding fpring. 
Thefe trees are generally brought over from Italy 
every fpring, by the perfons who import orange-trees, 
jafmines, &c. from whom they may be procured pretty 
reafonable ; which is a better method than to raife them 
from layers in this country, that being too tedious ; and 
thofe which are thus brought over have many times very 
large flems, to which 'fize young plants in this country 
would not arrive in ten or twelve years. When you fird 
procure thefe flems, you (hould (after having foaked 
their roots twenty-four hours in water, and cleaned them 
from the filth they have contrafted in their paflage) plant 
them in pots filled with frefli light Tandy earth, and 
plunge them into a moderate hot-bed, obferving tol’creen 
them from the violence of the fun in the heat of the day, 
and alfo to refrefli them with water, as you (hall find the 
earth in the pots dry. In this fituation they will begin 
to (hoot in fix weeks or two months after, when you (hould 
let them have air in proportion to the warmth of the fea¬ 
fon ; and, after they have made pretty good (hoots, you 
(hould 
