Oleaceae
Olive/Jasmine family
The olive and ash family, renowned for the olive (Olea europaea) — a cornerstone of Mediterranean diet and culture — and for ornamental flowering shrubs like jasmine (Jasminum) and lilac (Syringa). Most members have opposite leaves and small 4-lobed flowers.
Browse all 34 species ↓
Opposite leaves and 4-parted flowers with just two stamens — an unusually low stamen count among dicots.
A family of familiar cultivated shrubs and trees — olive, jasmine, and much of the fragrance behind the world's floral perfumery.
Which Oleaceae species is this?
Answer what you can see and narrow it down to a single Oleaceae species.
How to recognise the Oleaceae family
- 01
Opposite leaves, often leathery
- 02
4-petalled small flowers, 2 stamens
- 03
Drupe (olive) or samara (ash) fruit
To check whether a plant belongs to Oleaceae, compare the leaf arrangement, leaf type, flower symmetry, fruit type, and one distinctive marker together. A single feature can mislead; the family pattern is the combination.
Learn the full family-identification methodTypical leaf characters
Characters typical of the family — individual species can vary.
Typical flower & fruit
- Flower symmetryActinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- InflorescencePanicle
- FruitDrupe
Typical of the family — flowering plants only; species can vary.
Notable members
Families that can look similar
Verbenaceae
Compare against Verbenaceae when the plant shares similar leaves, flowers, or fruit. Confirm by checking the full family pattern.
Compare VerbenaceaeAcanthaceae
Compare against Acanthaceae when the plant shares similar leaves, flowers, or fruit. Confirm by checking the full family pattern.
Compare AcanthaceaeLamiaceae
Compare against Lamiaceae when the plant shares similar leaves, flowers, or fruit. Confirm by checking the full family pattern.
Compare LamiaceaeScrophulariaceae
Compare against Scrophulariaceae when the plant shares similar leaves, flowers, or fruit. Confirm by checking the full family pattern.
Compare ScrophulariaceaeAll 34 species in OLEACEAE
- Malabar Fringe TreeChionanthus mala-elengi subsp. linocieroides
- Native OliveChionanthus ramiflorus
- Needle Flower JasmineJasminum auriculatum
- Lemon-Scented JasmineJasminum azoricum
- Crowded-Flower JasmineJasminum coarctatum
- Pointed-Leaf JasmineJasminum cuspidatum
- Big Jasmine, River Jasmine, Scrambling VineJasminum flexile
- Big Jasmine, River Jasmine, Scrambling VineJasminum flexile var. ovatum
- Spanish Jasmine, Common Jasmine, Catalonian JasmineJasminum grandiflorum
- Wild JasmineJasminum humile
- Malabar JasmineJasminum malabaricum
- Primrose JasmineJasminum mesnyi
- Downy Jasmine, Common JasmineJasminum multiflorum
- Common JasmineJasminum officinale
- Many-Flowered JasmineJasminum polyanthum
- Long-Bud JasmineJasminum ritchiei
- Arabian Jasmine, Tuscan Jasmine, Mogori Sambac, Moss Rose Jasmine, Sambac JasmineJasminum sambac
- Tree PrivetLigustrum robustum subsp. walkeri
- Coral Jasmine, Night Jasmine, Arbor Tristis, Har Singar, Parijat, Sad Tree, Tree Of Sadness, Tree Of SorrowNyctanthes arbor-tristis
- Rose Sandalwood, Indian Wild OliveOlea dioica
- OliveOlea europaea
- AkirahoOlea paniculata
- Weaver's Beam TreeSchrebera swietenioides
- Chionanthus leprocarpus var. courtallensis
- Chionanthus zeylanica
- Jasminum brevilobum
- Jasminum laurifolium f. nitidum
- Jasminum rottlerianum
- Jasminum roxburghianum
- Ligustrum decaisnei
- Ligustrum gamblei
- Ligustrum perrottetii
- Linociera malabarica
- Olea polygama
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