Noronhia emarginata (Lam.) Poir., Oleaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Evaluate, score: 5 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Olea emarginata Lam.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Madagascar olive

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Trees to 15 m tall, bark smooth; branches stout, terete, the terminal twigs flattened.  Leaves elliptical or obovate, to 16 cm long, 10 cm wide, entire or emarginate, mucronulate, basally narrowed or obtuse, above blue green with contrasting pinnate veins which anastomose to form a continuous vein ca. 5 mm from the revolute margin, beneath yellow green, minutely punctate, the lateral venation obscure, petiole stout, ca. 5 mm thick, 10-15 mm long, light brown and contrasting with the color of the leaves and stems.  Inflorescences small racemes or panicles to 8 cm long, lateral on horizontal or descending twigs; pedicels and peduncle stout, green, subtended by minute deltoid or obtuse, deciduous bracts; pedicels 7-15 mm long, the base of the flower with 2 opposite, minute, appressed bracteoles.  Flowers self-fertile, 4-merous; calyx lobes similar, obtuse, ciliolate, ca. 1.5 mm long; corolla yellow, drying dark, thick and fleshy, the tube obscure, the limb lobed over halfway, the limb and lobes cuculate, globose, 6-7 mm across, the interior base flat and the coronule scarcely evident; stamens subsessile, inserted on the corolla tube, the anthers green, becoming dark brown after anthesis, dorsiventrally compressed, appressed to the ovary, broadly elliptical with a strong lateral sulcus, ca. 2 mm long, opening laterally; ovary green, conical, 2-3 mm long, smooth, glabrous, 2-locular with 2 ovules in each locule, the stigma white, glistening, 2-lobed, sessile on the ovary apex, the stigma and anther tips at the same level just above the floor of the corolla.  Fruits globose to turbinate, apiculate, ca. 20 mm long, drying hard, dark brown, slightly rough; seed pyriform, dark russet, 10-12 mm long, only partly filling the abortive locule, the cotyledons unequal" (D'Arcy, 1976; pp. 563-564).

Habitat/ecology:  "A very tough tree well-suited for coastal and seaside locations.  The tree has been successfully grown in urban areas where air pollution, poor drainage, compacted soil and/or drought are common.  Light requirement:  tree grows in part shade/part sun; tree grows in full sun.  Soil tolerances: clay; loam; sand; acidic; alkaline; well-drained.  Drought tolerance:  high.  Aerosol salt tolerance:  high.  Soil salt tolerance:  moderate" (Gilman & Watson, 1994).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Madagascar and the Comores.

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2011)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Moorea Island		Fosberg, F. R. (1997) (p. 85)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island		Fosberg, F. R. (1997) (p. 85)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Voucher cited: J. Florence 2609 (PAP) Cultivée. Rare à Tahiti.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Flynn, Tim/Lorence, David H. (2002) (p. 15) Vouchers cited: T. Flynn & L. Hume 1664 (PTBG, BISH), L. Hume 275 (PTBG), T. Flynn & D. Lorence 6663 (NTBG), T. Flynn & D. Lorence 6665 (PTBG, BISH, NY, US) Naturalized extensively.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kure Atoll	introduced	Starr, Forest/Martz, Kim/Loope, Lloyd (2001) (p. 15) Previously reported, not observed in this survey.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. (2003) (p. 29) Vouchers cited: Starr & Martz 010310-1 (BISH), Starr & Martz 010425-2 (BISH), Starr & Martz 010508-1 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Daehler, Curtis C./Baker, Raymond F. (2006) (p. 17) Vouchers cited: C. Daehler 1316 (HAW), Spence 127 (HLA)
United States (other Pacific offshore islands) Midway Atoll	Sand Island	introduced cultivated	Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd (2008) (pp. B-11) Voucher cited: Starr & Starr 080604-01

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Agalega Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Stoddart, D. R. (1983) (p. 130)

Additional information:
U.S. Forest Service fact sheet.

Additional online information about Noronhia emarginata is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Noronhia emarginata as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Noronhia emarginata may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

D'Arcy, W. G. 1976. Oleaceae. In: Flora of Panama,Family 158. Oleaceae. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 63.

Daehler, Curtis C./Baker, Raymond F. 2006. New records of naturalized and naturalizing plants around Lyon Arboretum, Mānoa Valley, O‘ahu. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2004-2005. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 87:3-18.

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

Flynn, Tim/Lorence, David H. 2002. Additions to the flora of the Hawaiian Islands. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2000. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 69:14-16.

Fosberg, F. R. 1997. Preliminary checklist of the flowering plants and ferns of the Society Islands. Ed. by David R. Stoddart. U. Cal. Berkeley.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Stoddart, D. R. 1983. List of the recorded vascular flora of Agalega. In: Sachet, M. H., D. R. Stoddart, and F. R. Fosberg. Floristics and ecology of Western Indian Ocean islands. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 273. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 253 pp.

Gilman, Edward F./ Watson, Dennis G. 1994. Noronhia emarginata Madagascar Olive. USDA Forest Service, Fact Sheet ST-419. 3 pp.

McCormack, Gerald. 2011. Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga.

Starr, Forest/Martz, Kim/Loope, Lloyd. 2001. Botanical inventory of Kure Atoll. United States Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, Haleakala Field Station, Hawai‘i. 22 pp.

Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd. 2008. Botanical survey of Midway Atoll. Prepared for: United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 27 pp. plus appendices.

Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. 2003. New plant records from the Hawaiian Archipelago. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2001-2002. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 74:23-34.