Oleaceae

Oleaceae [‚ō·lē′ās·ē‚ē]

(botany)

A family of dicotyledonous plants in the order Scrophulariales characterized generally by perfect flowers, two stamens, axile to parietal or apical placentation, a four-lobed corolla, and two ovules in each locule.

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Oleaceae 

(olive), a family of dicotyledonous plants, including trees, shrubs, and some lianas. The leaves are usually opposite and exstipulate. The flowers, which are primarily bisexual, regular, and four-parted, are gathered in inflorescences. The calyx is generally small or sometimes absent. The fruits are capsules, drupes, berries, or samaras. There are approximately 30 genera, with 600 species, distributed in temperate, subtropical, and tropical regions. About 25 species are found in the USSR. The most important plants are those of the genus Olea, whose fruits are rich in oil. Many species ofFraxinus (ash) yield high-quality lumber. The family Oleaceae also includes many species that are raised as ornamentals, such as forsythias, lilacs, jasmines, the Phillyrea, and privets. Certain species of Jasminum, and other genera yield valuable essential oils.

REFERENCES

Vasil’ev, V. N. “Maslinovye-Oleaceae Lind!.” In Flora SSSR, vol. 18. Moscow-Leningrad, 1952.
Takhtadzhian, A. L. Sistema i filogeniia tsvetkovykh rastenii. MoscowLeningrad, 1966.