{"slug":"olea-europaea-subsp-cuspidata","scientific_name":"Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata","common_names":["African olive","Wild olive","Brown olive"],"family":"Oleaceae","type":"broadleaf_evergreen","mature_height_m":8,"mature_spread_m":8,"growth_rate":"medium","lifespan_years":null,"hardiness_zones":null,"sun":"full","water":"low","soil":"Most well-drained soils including shale and clay; very drought tolerant","native_range":"Native from eastern and southern Africa through Arabia, Iran and Afghanistan to Pakistan, the western Himalaya and south-west China.","description":"A dense, much-branched evergreen shrub or small tree of 5 to 10 m with grey-green leaves and small inedible black olives spread by birds and foxes. Brought to Australia in the 1800s for hedging and as olive rootstock, it now forms impenetrable thickets across Western Sydney's Cumberland Plain and the Hunter Valley, shading out native understorey. It is a regional priority weed under the NSW Biosecurity Act 2015 (containment in Greater Sydney, Central Tablelands and Hunter) but not a Weed of National Significance.","care":"Do not plant in eastern Australia. Control before fruiting by hand-pulling seedlings, cut-stump, stem injection or basal bark herbicide; it resprouts from the base after cutting or fire, so follow up for several years. In its African native range it is a hardy, useful shade and firewood tree.","benefits":["drought_tolerant","birds","windbreak","shade"],"uses":["hedgerow","windbreak","screening"],"cautions":["invasive_elsewhere","messy_fruit"],"image_url":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Starr-090421-6209-Olea_europaea_subsp_cuspidata-fruit_and_leaves-Pukalani-Maui_%2824584684079%29.jpg","image_credit":"Wikimedia Commons, file Starr-090421-6209-Olea_europaea_subsp_cuspidata-fruit_and_leaves-Pukalani-Maui_(24584684079).jpg (see file page for author and licence)","sources":["https://weeds.dpi.nsw.gov.au/Weeds/AfricanOlive","https://weeds.org.au/weeds-profiles/","https://www.gbif.org/species/5830157"],"data_note":null,"updated_at":"2026-11-08T01:00:46.205Z","page_url":"https://treerm.org/trees/olea-europaea-subsp-cuspidata","markdown_url":"https://treerm.org/trees/olea-europaea-subsp-cuspidata.md","regions":[{"country":"ET","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/5830157"},{"country":"IR","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/5830157"},{"country":"KE","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/5830157"},{"country":"PK","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":null,"source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/5830157"},{"country":"ZA","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":"Native (wild olive) per POWO/WCVP range of the subspecies","source_url":"https://www.gbif.org/species/5830157"},{"country":"NZ","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"adapted","note":"Listed by Weedbusters NZ as a weed","source_url":"https://www.weedbusters.org.nz/what-are-weeds/weed-list/"},{"country":"AU","region":"NSW","locality":null,"status":"invasive","note":"Regional priority weed: Containment in Greater Sydney, Central Tablelands and Hunter, Asset Protection in North West; should not be bought, sold, moved or released in core areas; not a WoNS","source_url":"https://weeds.dpi.nsw.gov.au/Weeds/AfricanOlive"}],"license":"CC-BY-4.0"}