North Carolina Wildflowers

by Jeffrey S. Pippen | Back to Jeff's Plant Page | Jeff's Nature Pages


Oleaceae > Osmanthus (devilwood, wild olive)

American Olive, Wild Olive, Devilwood (Osmanthus americanus, Cartrema americana) Devilwood, American Olive, Wild Olive (Osmanthus americanus, Cartrema americana)
Roanoke Island, Dare Co., NC
9 Nov 2012

Fairly common in maritime forests along the North Carolina coast. Evidence is building that this taxon should be placed in the genus Cartrema, rather than the traditional Osmanthus.

American Olive, Wild Olive, Devilwood (Osmanthus americanus, Cartrema americana) Devilwood, American Olive, Wild Olive (Osmanthus americanus, Cartrema americana)
Roanoke Island, Dare Co., NC
9 Nov 2012

Leaves are sub-opposite to opposite, tough, shiny above, often "dirty" below, and evergreen.

American Olive, Wild Olive, Devilwood (Osmanthus americanus, Cartrema americana) Devilwood, American Olive, Wild Olive (Osmanthus americanus, Cartrema americana)
Roanoke Island, Dare Co., NC
9 Nov 2012

Fruits are drupes and become dark blue as they mature from fall into winter.

American Olive, Wild Olive, Devilwood (Osmanthus americanus, Cartrema americana) Devilwood, American Olive, Wild Olive (Osmanthus americanus, Cartrema americana)
Roanoke Island, Dare Co., NC
9 Nov 2012

American Olive, Wild Olive, Devilwood (Osmanthus americanus, Cartrema americana) Devilwood, American Olive, Wild Olive (Osmanthus americanus, Cartrema americana)
Roanoke Island, Dare Co., NC
9 Nov 2012

Flower buds begin to develop in the fall and mature in the spring with actually flowering in mid-late spring. Buds are naked.

American Olive, Wild Olive, Devilwood (Osmanthus americanus, Cartrema americana) Devilwood, American Olive, Wild Olive (Osmanthus americanus, Cartrema americana)
Roanoke Island, Dare Co., NC
9 Nov 2012

American Olive, Wild Olive, Devilwood (Osmanthus americanus, Cartrema americana) Devilwood, American Olive, Wild Olive (Osmanthus americanus, Cartrema americana)
Roanoke Island, Dare Co., NC
9 Nov 2012

Epicormic branching.

American Olive, Wild Olive, Devilwood (Osmanthus americanus, Cartrema americana) Devilwood, American Olive, Wild Olive (Osmanthus americanus, Cartrema americana)
Roanoke Island, Dare Co., NC
9 Nov 2012

Devilwood is a small to medium-sized tree.

American Olive, Wild Olive, Devilwood (Osmanthus americanus, Cartrema americana) Devilwood, American Olive, Wild Olive (Osmanthus americanus, Cartrema americana)
Roanoke Island, Dare Co., NC
9 Nov 2012

Wood is very hard and "impossible" to split, hence the common name of Devilwood.

American Olive, Wild Olive, Devilwood (Osmanthus americanus, Cartrema americana) Devilwood, American Olive, Wild Olive (Osmanthus americanus, Cartrema americana)
Roanoke Island, Dare Co., NC
9 Nov 2012

Bark of a medium sized tree.


Annotated habitat and distribution information listed above is from Radford, Ahles, & Bell. 1968. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. UNC Press; and from personal observations and discussions with Will Cook, Harry LeGrand, and Bob Wilbur. Common names from personal experience and supplemented by the following resources USDA plants website, Flora of the Carolinas, Virginia, and Georgia, and NatureServe.


Back to Jeff's Plant Page | Jeff's Butterfly Page | Jeff's Nature Page

Created on May 7, 2006 | jeffpippen9@gmail.com