California Invasive Plant Council

Olea europaea

Common names: olive

Olea europaea (olive) is a shrub or tree (family Oleaceae) that can produce hundreds of seeds that are spread by birds and mammals. Though commonly grown as a crop in California, gardeners should use caution planting olives near open space. It has invaded areas in southern California and the Central Valley.

Cal-IPC Rating: Limited

Cal-IPC Assessment

Plant Assessment Form - Information gathered by Cal-IPC on the impacts, rate of spread, and distribution of invasive plants in California. Does not include management information.

Weed RIC Management Notes

• Management Notes - Information on management techniques and effectiveness from the University of California Cooperative Extension’s Weed Research & Information Center.

Cal-IPC Newsletter Articles

• Don’t sell a pest: A new partnership to prevent plant invasions through horticulture. Connick, Sarah; Gerel, Mike. Vol 13, Issue 2

Cal-IPC Symposium Presentations

Presentations are linked where available. Where a presentation is not available, find more information by reading the abstract in the Cal-IPC Symposia Archive.

• Controlling the Invasive Offspring of Historic Olive Trees on Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands National Park. Power, Paula; Roberts, James R.; Cowan, Clark; Rudolph, Rocky (2010)
• Balancing act: Managing non-native plants of historic landscapes within the natural landscapes of Channel Islands National Park. Chaney, Sarah (2005)
• Management of domestic olives on Santa Cruz Island in the Channel Islands National Park: Preventing development of an olive-dominated chaparral. Roberts, James R.; Chaney, Sarah; Fossum, Ann (2005)
• Partnering to prevent invasions of plants of horticultural origin. Connick, Sarah; Gerel, Mike (2004)
• Killing olive (Olea europea) root sprouts with Imazapyr and Glyphosate. Bell, Carl E.; Bell, Carole (2003)
• The abundance and distribution of non-native woody species in Sacramento Valley riparian zones. Hunter, John C.; Sterling, John C.; Widdowson, William P.; Beedy, Edward C.; Stralberg, Diana; Nur, Nadav (2003)
• SWAT: Special weed action teams as abassadors for education and energy. Kelly, Mike (1998)

Other Olea europaea Information

• CalPhotos - Images of plants taken mostly in California.
• Calflora - See the distribution of this species on Calflora's map of California.
• CalWeedMapper - Distribution information with ability to determine regional priorities.
• Jepson Online Interchange for California Flora - Information on taxonomy, biology, and distribution from UC Berkeley's Jepson Herbarium.
• USDA PLANTS Database - Federal database with information on identification and distribution, and links to websites in individual states.