Madagascar Olive (Noronhia emarginata)
Description
Noronhia emarginata (Madagascar olive; syn. Olea emarginata Lam.) is a species of Noronhia native to Madagascar, now naturalized on Mauritius, R-union and Bermuda.It is an evergreen shrub or small tree growing to 3-15 m tall. It has smooth bark, stout terete branches and flattened terminal twigs. The leaves are opposite, elliptical or obovate, up to 16 cm long and 10 cm broad, with an entire margin and an emarginate (notched) apex. The flowers are small, pale whitish-yellow, fragrant, with a four-lobed corolla. The fruit is a globose to turbinate drupe 2-3 cm diameter, apiculate, bright yellow ripening dark purple, drying hard, dark brown, slightly rough with a single pyriform, dark russet seed, 10-12 mm long. The cotyledons are unequal
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum: Magnoliophyta
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Lamiales
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Family: Oleaceae
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Genus: Noronhia
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