| Picconia | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Oleaceae |
| Tribe: | Oleeae |
| Subtribe: | Oleinae |
| Genus: | Picconia DC. |
| Species | |
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See text | |
Picconia is a genus of two species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae, found in the laurel forests habitat of Macaronesia.[1]
They are evergreen shrubs to trees with large, opposite, entire, shiny, ovoid leaves and numerous flowers. The fruit is a drupe. The flowers are small, white and fragrant, followed by one-seeded, olive-like green fruits, ripening to bluish-black.[2] Picconia are native of open spots in the laurel forest of the Azores, Madeira and Canary Islands where they are found only in the humid to hyper-humid evergreen forests of the cloud belt.[3] Tree species with laurel-like leaves are predominant, forming a dense canopy up to 40 m high that blocks out most light, resulting in scant vegetation in the understory.[3] Most of these tree species in Africa are ancient paleoendemic[4] species of the genera Laurus, Ocotea, Persea, and Picconia, which in ancient times were widely distributed on the African and European continents.[3][4]
