Hardy, long-lived, evergreen, small to medium trees which produce green or black fruits. African olives produce small spherical black fruits which are only edible by birds whereas European olives produce green and black oval shaped fruits which are harvested for the production of olive oil and table fruit. Unpicked fruit can be spread by wildlife and the resulting seedlings are extremely invasive. Feral olives impact on native vegetation over large areas of Australia.

A dense evergreen shrub to 5 m. New leaves are bright red, showy and mature to dark green. An ideal hedging plant that responds well to pruning. Thrives in full-sun to part-shade.

Formerly known as Eucalyptus ficifolia.

This flowering gum to 9 m is one of the most widely cultivated of all eucalypts both in Australia and overseas. In recent years, a number of grafted eucalypts (between Eucalyptus ficifolia and Eucalyptus ptychocarpa) have become available through nurseries. Grafted specimens to 5 m produce an abundance of decorative flowers with guaranteed colour. Ask at your local garden centre for the best cultivars for your garden.

This fruitless olive grows to 6 m high by 6 m wide. It was discovered growing in an orchard near Swan Hill Victoria. Grows best in full-sun and freely drained soils.