Kingdom Plantae Genus Osmanthus Higher classification Devilwood Order Lamiales | Family Oleaceae Scientific name Osmanthus americanus Rank Species | |
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Similar Devilwood, Oleaceae, Osmanthus delavayi, Gordonia lasianthus, Ilex cassine |
Osmanthus americanus, commonly called American olive, wild olive, or devilwood, is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to southeastern North America, in the United States from Virginia to Texas, and in Mexico from Nuevo León south to Oaxaca and Veracruz.

Osmanthus americanus grows to 4–7 m (13–23 ft), rarely to 11 m (36 ft) tall. The leaves are 5–14 cm (2.0–5.5 in) long and 2–4 cm (0.79–1.57 in) broad, with an entire margin. Its flowers, produced in early spring, are small (1 cm long), white, with a four-lobed corolla and have a strong fragrance. The fruit is a globose dark blue drupe 6–15 mm (0.24–0.59 in) diameter, containing a single seed.
It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in gardens for its fragrant flowers.




References
Osmanthus americanus Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA