Olea europaea subsp. europaea
Environmental Weed (2024)
Common names
European olive, African olive
Biostatus
Exotic
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Flower colours
White
Conservation status
Not applicable
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Ecology
Flowering
Sep-Dec in NZ
Year naturalised
1970
Origin
E Afr to S Afr
Reason for introduction
Agriculture
Life cycle and dispersal
Reproduces by 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. Dispersed by birds.
Other information
Environmental Weed (2024)
This plant is named in a list of 386 environmental weeds in New Zealand 2024 prepared by DOC. 759 candidate species were considered for inclusion on this new comprehensive list of environmental weeds in New Zealand. The species considered were drawn from published lists of weed species, lists of plants that must be reported or managed by law if observed, existing national and regional programmes and agreements for pest management, and species already managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC). Candidate species were then assessed to see if they were fully naturalised and whether they have more than minor impacts in natural ecosystems. Read the full report here.
Referencing and citations
Attribution
Cameron, Ewen K 2017. Naturalised African olives (Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata) in New Zealand. Auckland Botanical Soc. Journal 72(1): 71-76.