Australian Olive

It grows as a bushy tree to 30 m (98 ft), often with a sparse canopy. The trunk has smooth grey-brown bark and reaches a maximum diameter of 90 cm (35 in) with some buttressing. The shiny green ovate to elliptical leaves measure 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in) in length, and 1.5–6 cm (0.59–2.36 in) in width, and have a pointed (acuminate) end. The blue-black fruit are oval and measure 0.8–1.2 (0.3–0.5 in) cm long. They are ripe from May to September. It resembles the introduced and weedy African olive Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata, but the latter lacks O. paniculata's small depressions between the main and secondary veins on the back of the leaf. The introduced species is found in disturbed areas such as roadsides and waterways.

Olea paniculata is found from North East Queensland to the vicinity of the Hunter Region in New South Wales. In Australia it is found near watercourses in dry rainforests. Outside Australia it is found in Yunnan province in southwestern China, where it occurs in sheltered wetter valleys 1,200–2,400 m (3,900–7,900 ft) in altitude, as well as India, Indonesia, Kashmir, Malaysia, Nepal, New Guinea, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. On Lord Howe Island it is widespread below around 500 m (1,600 ft) elevation. It is also found on New Caledonia and Vanuatu.

The fruit are consumed by the Australian king parrot, brown cuckoo-dove, topknot pigeon, rose-crowned fruit-dove, wompoo fruit-dove, white-headed pigeon, green catbird and regent bowerbird in Australia.

It is a fast pioneer species on sunny protected sites, but needs well drained soil for good growth. It is a butterfly host plant whose black fruit attracts birds. The fruit was traditionally eaten by Aboriginal Australians.

== References ==