Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Lamiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Cartrema americanum
FAMILY
Oleaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read about Cartrema and Osmanthus from Alan Weakley and the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society.
Few other evergreen trees have opposite leaves, these being elliptic to oblanceolate and about 4" long and only about 1" wide. They are shiny above, quite leathery, with entire margins that are often rolled under. Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
A conspicuous element of maritime forests in most of our coastal area, readily recognizable by the flattened twigs characteristic of the family, and the opposite (or typically, actually subopposite), glossy, oblanceolate to obovate, evergreen leaves. Read more in Weakley's Flora (2022)
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Osmanthus americanus var. americanus
FAMILY
Oleaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT) Synopsis of American Cartrema (Oleaceae) (Nesom, 2012)
Cartrema americana
SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT) VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 153-04-001:
Osmanthus americana FAMILY Oleaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Osmanthus americanus
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Amarolea americana
COMMON NAME:
Devilwood, Wild Olive
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_889
)
JK Marlow jkm0501a_35
January Greenville County SC
In cultivation
Glossy evergreen lvs opposite (typically subopposite), oblanceolate to obovate, per Weakley's Flora.
)
Sam Pratt sbp_021522_1221
February Spartanburg County SC
In cultivation
Leaves are entire on the margin, 10-14cm long, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
JK Marlow jkm110320_166
March Greenville County SC
In cultivation
)
Alan S. Weakley asw_618367500134995
April Orange County NC
North Carolina Botanical Garden
Flowers in short axillary panicles (rarely racemes), short-pedicellate, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm100413_008
April Greenville County SC
In cultivation
Calyx tube about 1mm long, lobes 0.5-1.5mm long, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Cartrema americanum
FAMILY
Oleaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Osmanthus americanus var. americanus
FAMILY
Oleaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT)
Synopsis of American Cartrema (Oleaceae) (Nesom, 2012)
Cartrema americana
SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT)
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 153-04-001:
Osmanthus americana
FAMILY
Oleaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Osmanthus americanus
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Amarolea americana
993
Shrub; Tree
Perennial
Dioecious
Habitat: maritime forests and (in FL, GA, SC, and extreme s. NC) hammocks and other dry, sandy forests well inland, and reported southwards for wet habitats as well, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in GA & SC (uncommon in NC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Simple
Opposite or subopposite
Margins entire
FLOWER:
Spring
Creamy-white
Radially symmetrical
4-merous
4-lobed calyx
4-lobed campanulate corolla
Superior ovary
Mostly unisexual
Inflorescence a few-flowered axillary panicle
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Blue
Drupe
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p057
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p255
- Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants p094
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p120
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p257
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p231
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p094
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p088
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p224
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".