| Phillyrea | |
|---|---|
| Phillyrea latifolia | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Oleaceae |
| Tribe: | Oleeae |
| Genus: | Phillyrea L. |
| Species | |
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See text |
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Phillyrea is a genus of two species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae, native to the Mediterranean region, the Canary Islands and Madeira.
They are evergreen shrubs or small trees growing to 3-9 m tall, related to Ligustrum, Olea and Osmanthus. The leaves are in opposite pairs, small, leathery, ovate to lanceolate, 2-6 cm long and 0.5-2 cm broad. The flowers are small, greenish-white, produced in short clusters. The fruit is a drupe containing a single seed.
A third species P. decora from the Caucasus is now usually treated in the genus Osmanthus as Osmanthus decorus.