olive

Olea europaea · Oleaceae · all Olea records · Wikipedia

Is this one for your yard?

Enter your ZIP to see whether this is legal to plant in your state, and whether it survives your winter.

Olive is not a fire-resistant choice near a home; the strongest direct evidence supports keeping it away from structures.

Landscape and Urban Planning reported olive as very flammable at class 4 on its zero-to-five Valette scale. Across 200 live-leaf samples at 100 percent foliar moisture, mean ignition time was 13.18 seconds and mean flame duration was 9.84 seconds. The European Scientific Journal also classified olive as highly flammable, using a fresh-material category defined by ignition within 65 seconds.

Other assessments reinforce the caution, though their methods and labels differ. After shoots were air-dried for 24 hours, the International Journal of Wildland Fire placed olive in a moderate/high flammability cluster. Eastern US Firewise programs rated it At Risk, or 3 on their four-point scale. A University of California Forest Products Laboratory compilation found conflicting recommendations, while cautioning that many underlying lists used undefined terms and often lacked scientific grounding.

Diputació de Barcelona and CREAF provide the contrary view. Their 2025 guidance names olive among the less-flammable species to retain first when opening and maintaining perimeter protection strips in Catalonia. That management comparison does not measure the same thing as fresh-leaf ignition or air-dried shoot tests. The disagreement therefore reflects different methods and purposes, but the direct high-flammability findings make keeping this roughly 25-foot tree away from structures the safer conclusion.

Fire-resistant trees instead

Form: tree
Mature height: ~25 ft
Light: Full sun
Rated in: California; Catalonia, Spain; Córdoba, southern Spain; Global +4

On this lot

1. Fire evidence and conditions

Fire evidence: Highly flammable — location does not change the cited classification.
Fire-performance conditions: 1 condition stated in cited fire-evidence rows.
Fire ecology context
Placement evidence: 4 source placement records; source schemes remain separate.
Evidence regions: California; Catalonia, Spain; Córdoba, southern Spain; Global; Global compilation (published in Australia); New Zealand; Tlemcen, western Algeria; eastern US
Maintenance

Typed publication scope: 1 scope across 1 cited fire source

Defensible Space Landscaping in the Urban/Wildland Interface: A Compilation of Fire Performance Ratings of Residential Landscape Plants · Official scoped edition
- CA; partial normalized coverage · 1997-07-01
  The UC Forest Products Laboratory says the guide covers properties of common California landscaping plants and was prepared for California fire agencies. FireApproved publishes 130 exact owners at historical California publication scope. The report is a 1997 compilation, not a current endorsement, site rating, or independent test of every row.

2. Why this plant is relevant here

State distribution: Documented in CA, DC, DE, HI, MD, NJ, OH, PA, WV.
Native range
Introduced / established: 1 sourced range or established record. This is not an invasive warning.
USDA hardiness: Only uncertain or inapplicable hardiness rows are cited; no primary zone is projected.

3. Legal, ecological, and broader status

Legal-list status
Seed-list status
Reported invasive here: 2 ecological invasive reports.
Broader regional context
Federal context

How to read this page

The status above is computed from the cited rows below: independent recommendations can support a fire-resistant result, an avoid row can produce keep-away, and disagreement stays visible as conflict. Placement notes preserve each source’s own scheme rather than translating unlike rules into one scale. This is evidence about a plant, not permission to plant it in every part of the defensible space; Zone 0 remains noncombustible.

Native and introduced range evidence

These are exact U.S. botanical-area records from the cited range source. Native and introduced describe biogeographic relationship, not fire performance or planting approval. Doubtful and extinct rows stay visible but do not count as current presence.

Current native

0

exact source areas

Current introduced

1

exact source area

Qualified

0

doubtful or extinct source rows

1 introduced source area · World Checklist of Vascular Plants, version 16 v16, as of 2026-06-04

Hawaii (HI)

The lossless worldwide derivative is retained once in the research corpus; object pages repeat only exact U.S. areas needed by the local lens. The JSON twin carries the same page assertions.

Plant hardiness evidence

These values describe the plant source. Your ZIP zone comes from the separate 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. Whole-zone values stay whole-zone, and a single unresolved value is not treated as a tolerance range. Different source boundaries stay separate: overlapping statements are compared independently, while only ranges with no shared zone are called a conflict.

Eastern United States Fire Performance Plant Selector · record olea-europaea · 2016-wayback · as of 2026-08-26

Source prints 8 · single-value meaning unresolved · whole zone precision · source stated

Source taxon: Olea europaea · exact match.

Source location: Cold Hardiness Zone field in the recovered selector record.

Not used for comparison: The recovered selector prints one Cold Hardiness Zone value but does not define it as a minimum threshold or a one-zone range.

Conditions in the fire evidence

These describe tested or rated plant material. They are not horticultural maintenance instructions.

green: The ignition index based on flammability of vegetation improves planning in the WUI evidence row, The fire risk of the plant groupings with Cistus in the area of Tlemcen (Western Algeria) evidence row

Where its sources say to plant it

Placement rules below use each source's own distances or named zones, tied to its rating. They are not interchangeable with the directory's current Zone 0 guidance.

Eastern United States Fire Performance Plant Selector: Landscape Zone 3 — 10–30 ft from the structure; thin vegetation, remove debris, and minimize plant massing [Fire Performance Plant Selector landscape zone] (mid-scale rating)
The fire risk of the plant groupings with Cistus in the a…: Table 1 [henaoui-2013-fresh-material-flammability] (with its avoid rating)
Defensible Space Landscaping in the Urban/Wildland Interf…: Chapter 4, Landscape Vegetation Database [ucfpl-1997] (mid-scale rating)
Les franges perimetrals de protecció contra els incendis …: page 4 species-selection panel [catalonia-perimeter-strip-maintain-remove] (with its recommendation)

The evidence

Grouped by what each source concluded. Primary evidence rated the plant itself (a lab, field program, or original curation); corroboration compiled or republished another source's rating and resolves to its root lineage.

Avoids (2)

The ignition index based on flammability of vegetation improves planning in the WUI — Landscape and Urban Planning (Molina, Martín, Rodríguez y Silva & Herrera) · 2017 · original source Primary evidence Lab-tested lineage: molina-uco-tree

“Very flammable (Valette 4)” · score 4 (valette-0-5-live-leaf) · condition: green

Table 2 reports 100% foliar moisture, 13.18 s mean time to ignition, and 9.84 s mean flame duration across 200 live-leaf samples.
The fire risk of the plant groupings with Cistus in the area of Tlemcen (Western Algeria) — European Scientific Journal · European Scientific Journal 9(29) · original source Primary evidence Lab-tested lineage: valette-1990

“High flammability — note 3” · score 3 (henaoui-2013-flammability-note-1-3) · condition: green · original source

Table 1 classifies Olea europaea at flammability note 3; the paper prints its stratum as Tree.

Mid-scale / conditional (4)

Eastern United States Fire Performance Plant Selector — USDA Forest Service Northeastern Area S&PF + state Firewise programs (WV, OH, PA, DE, DC, MD, NJ) · 2016-wayback · original source Primary evidence Keyed curation lineage: ufifas-srs-tree

“AT RISK Firewise (3)”

Imported small tree in tropical parts of U.S. producing edible fruit after harvesting and processing.
A quantitative assessment of shoot flammability for 60 tree and shrub species — International Journal of Wildland Fire (Wyse, Perry, O'Connell, Holland, Wright, Hosted, Whitelock, Geary, Maurin, Curran) · 2016 · original source Primary evidence Lab-tested lineage: lincoln-nz-tree

“Moderate/high flammability category (Fig. 2)”

Shoot category from the paper's cluster analysis; samples were air-dried for 24 hours before testing.

Corroboration (2 rows from 2 sources)

Defensible Space Landscaping in the Urban/Wildland Interface: A Compilation of Fire Performance Ratings of Residential Landscape Plants — University of California Forest Products Laboratory · Internal Report 36.01.137 (July 1997) · original source Corroboration Compilation lineage: ucfpl-berkeley

“Conflicting information on fire performance.”

1997 Landscape Vegetation Database row: Olea europea (Arbequina, Olive). Preserved UCFPL transcription marker: C2.
Safer Gardens: Plant Flammability & Planning for Fire — Lesley Corbett / Australian Scholarly Publishing · 2021 book / public sample · original source Corroboration Compilation lineage: meta-aggregator

“Olive trees are sometimes included on ‘fire retardant’ lists. However they are very hard to put out once alight.” · original source

The author website preserves the favorable list placement and the adverse sustained-burning observation as a conflict.

Listed without a rating (141)

Corroboration (141 rows from 1 source)

FLAMITS: FLAMmability plant traiTS database — Dryad / Global Ecology and Biogeography · Dryad version 9 · original source Corroboration Trait database lineage: meta-aggregator

141 cited rows from this source; its identity, lineage and tier are stated once.
- Primary study Burger2015: Burger, N., & Bond, W. J. (2015). Flammability traits of Cape shrubland species with different post-fire recruitment strategies. South African Journal of Botany, 101, 40-48.
  
  Shared row context: plant part branches; fuel all; predrying yes; device grill; site Burger2015-1; sampling september.
  - “maximum sample temperature (°C): 597.85”
    
    FLAMITS record 1065; Combustibility measurement.
  - “burnt biomass (%): 19.84”
    
    FLAMITS record 1094; Consumability measurement.
- Primary study Cui2020a: Cui, X., Paterson, A. M., Wyse, S. V., Alam, M. A., Maurin, K. J. L., Pieper, R., ... Curran, T. J. (2020a). Shoot flammability of vascular plants is phylogenetically conserved and related to habitat fire-proneness and growth form. Nature Plants, 6, 355-359.
  
  Shared row context: plant part branches; fuel all; predrying yes; device grill; site Cui2020a-1; sampling ND.
  - “ignition frequency (%): 100”
    
    FLAMITS record 1443; Ignitability measurement.
  - “maximum sample temperature (°C): 456.8”
    
    FLAMITS record 1637; Combustibility measurement.
  - “burning duration (s): 12.6”
    
    FLAMITS record 1831; Sustainability measurement.
  - “estimated burnt biomass (%): 13.1”
    
    FLAMITS record 2025; Consumability measurement.
- “calorific value (kcal/kg): 4650.33”
  
  FLAMITS record 3916; Combustibility measurement; plant part twigs; fuel live; predrying yes; device calorimeter; site Gillon1997-1; sampling june to september. Primary study Gillon1997: Gillon, D., Hernando, C., Valette, J.-C., & Joffre, R. (1997). Fast estimation of the calorific values of forest fuels by near infrared-reflectance spectroscopy. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 27, 760-765.
- Primary study Hachmi2011: Hachmi, M. H., Sesbou, A., Benjelloun, H., El Handouz, N., & Bouanane, F. (2011). A Simple Technique to Estimate the Flammability Index of Moroccan Forest Fuels. Journal of Combustion, 2011, 1-11.
  
  Shared row context: plant part twigs; fuel live; predrying no; device epiradiator; site Hachmi2011-1; sampling ND.
  - Shared measurement context: Ignitability measurement.
    - “time to flaming (s): 9.3”
      
      FLAMITS record 4713.
    - “flammability value: 1.69”
      
      FLAMITS record 4805.
  - “flame height (cm): 13”
    
    FLAMITS record 4761; Combustibility measurement.
  - “burning duration (s): 10.8”
    
    FLAMITS record 4762; Sustainability measurement.
- Primary study Henaoui2013: Henaoui, S. E. -A., Bouazza, M., & Amara, M. (2013). The fire risk of the plant groupings with Cistus in the area of Tlemcen (Western Algeria). European Scientific Journal, 9, 84-103.
  
  Shared row context: plant part twigs; fuel live; predrying yes; device infrared burner; site Henaoui2013-1; sampling spring.
  - “flame height (cm): 40.33”
    
    FLAMITS record 4889; Combustibility measurement.
  - “time to flaming (s): 59.23”
    
    FLAMITS record 4927; Ignitability measurement.
  - “burning duration (s): 99.45”
    
    FLAMITS record 4965; Sustainability measurement.
- Primary study Kauf2014: Kauf, Z., Fangmeier, A., Rosavec, R., & panjol, . (2014). Testing Vegetation Flammability: The Problem of Extremely Low Ignition Frequency and Overall Flammability Score. Journal of Combustion, 2014, 1-10.
  
  Shared row context: plant part litter; fuel all; predrying no; device epiradiator; site Kauf2014-1; sampling may.
  - Shared measurement context: Ignitability measurement.
    - “time to flaming (s): 10.89”
      
      FLAMITS record 5558.
    - “temperature at flaming (°C): 397.4”
      
      FLAMITS record 5574.
  - “maximum flame temperature (°C): 557.4”
    
    FLAMITS record 5566; Combustibility measurement.
  - Shared measurement context: Sustainability measurement.
    - “flaming duration (s): 38.72”
      
      FLAMITS record 5582.
    - “burning duration (s): 49.62”
      
      FLAMITS record 5590.
- Primary study Kauf2015: Kauf, Z., Fangmeier, A., Rosavec, R., & panjol, . (2015). Seasonal and local differences in leaf litter flammability of six Mediterranean tree species. environmental management, 55, 687-701.
  
  Shared row context: plant part litter; fuel all; predrying no; device epiradiator; sampling may, july, september and october.
  - “maximum flame temperature (°C): 553.47”
    
    FLAMITS record 5597; Combustibility measurement; site Kauf2015-1.
  - Shared measurement context: Ignitability measurement; site Kauf2015-1.
    - “temperature at flaming (°C): 398.52”
      
      FLAMITS record 5603.
    - “time to flaming (s): 12.5”
      
      FLAMITS record 5612.
  - “time to flaming (s): 12.18”
    
    FLAMITS record 5613; Ignitability measurement; site Kauf2015-2.
  - “time to flaming (s): 11.32”
    
    FLAMITS record 5614; Ignitability measurement; site Kauf2015-3.
  - Shared measurement context: Sustainability measurement; site Kauf2015-1.
    - “flaming duration (s): 35.61”
      
      FLAMITS record 5628.
    - “burning duration (s): 47.72”
      
      FLAMITS record 5644.
  - Shared measurement context: Sustainability measurement; site Kauf2015-2.
    - “flaming duration (s): 38.89”
      
      FLAMITS record 5629.
    - “burning duration (s): 50.19”
      
      FLAMITS record 5645.
  - Shared measurement context: Sustainability measurement; site Kauf2015-3.
    - “flaming duration (s): 40.1”
      
      FLAMITS record 5630.
    - “burning duration (s): 51.32”
      
      FLAMITS record 5646.
- Primary study Liodakis2002: Liodakis, S., Bakirtzis, D., & Lois, E. (2002). TG and autoignition studies on forest fuels. Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, 69, 519-528.
  
  Shared row context: plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying yes; site Liodakis2002-1; sampling january.
  - “calorific value (kcal/kg): 5108.26”
    
    FLAMITS record 6554; Combustibility measurement; device calorimeter.
  - Shared measurement context: Ignitability measurement; device muffle furnace.
    - “time to flaming (s): 57”
      
      FLAMITS record 6603.
    - “time to flaming (s): 56”
      
      FLAMITS record 6604.
    - “time to flaming (s): 42”
      
      FLAMITS record 6605.
    - “time to flaming (s): 35”
      
      FLAMITS record 6606.
    - “time to flaming (s): 27”
      
      FLAMITS record 6607.
    - “time to flaming (s): 23”
      
      FLAMITS record 6608.
    - “time to flaming (s): 22”
      
      FLAMITS record 6609.
    - “time to flaming (s): 17”
      
      FLAMITS record 6610.
    - “time to flaming (s): 15”
      
      FLAMITS record 6611.
    - “time to flaming (s): 10”
      
      FLAMITS record 6612.
    - “time to flaming (s): 7.5”
      
      FLAMITS record 6613.
    - “time to flaming (s): 9”
      
      FLAMITS record 6614.
    - “time to flaming (s): 7”
      
      FLAMITS record 6615.
  - Shared measurement context: Consumability measurement; device thermal analyzer.
    - “burnt biomass (%): 70.97”
      
      FLAMITS record 6666.
    - “burnt biomass (%): 76.53”
      
      FLAMITS record 6676.
- Primary study Liodakis2005: Liodakis, S., Vorisis, D., & Agiovlasitis, I. (2005). A method for measuring the relative particle fire hazard properties of forest species. Thermochimica Acta, 437, 150-157.
  
  Shared row context: plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying yes; site Liodakis2005-1; sampling ND.
  - “maximum sample temperature (°C): 444”
    
    FLAMITS record 6679; Combustibility measurement; device muffle furnace.
  - Shared measurement context: Ignitability measurement; device muffle furnace.
    - “temperature at flaming (°C): 228”
      
      FLAMITS record 6685.
    - “time to flaming (s): 24912”
      
      FLAMITS record 6697.
  - “burning duration (s): 2352”
    
    FLAMITS record 6691; Sustainability measurement; device muffle furnace.
  - “calorific value (kcal/kg): 5242.11”
    
    FLAMITS record 6703; Combustibility measurement; device calorimeter.
- Primary study Martin1989: Martín, E., & Miguel, L. (1989). Inflamabilidad y energía de las especies de sotobosque
  
  Shared row context: plant part twigs; fuel live; predrying yes; device epiradiator; site Martin1989-1.
  - Shared measurement context: Ignitability measurement; sampling may.
    - “time to flaming (s): 37”
      
      FLAMITS record 7729.
    - “ignition frequency (%): 26”
      
      FLAMITS record 8128.
  - Shared measurement context: Ignitability measurement; sampling july.
    - “time to flaming (s): 60”
      
      FLAMITS record 7730.
    - “ignition frequency (%): 12”
      
      FLAMITS record 8129.
  - Shared measurement context: Ignitability measurement; sampling august.
    - “time to flaming (s): 29”
      
      FLAMITS record 7731.
    - “ignition frequency (%): 54”
      
      FLAMITS record 8130.
  - Shared measurement context: Ignitability measurement; sampling september.
    - “time to flaming (s): 27”
      
      FLAMITS record 7732.
    - “ignition frequency (%): 97”
      
      FLAMITS record 8131.
  - Shared measurement context: Ignitability measurement; sampling october.
    - “time to flaming (s): 27”
      
      FLAMITS record 7733.
    - “ignition frequency (%): 92”
      
      FLAMITS record 8132.
  - Shared measurement context: Ignitability measurement; sampling november.
    - “time to flaming (s): 30”
      
      FLAMITS record 7734.
    - “ignition frequency (%): 95”
      
      FLAMITS record 8133.
  - “calorific value (kcal/kg): 5459”
    
    FLAMITS record 7903; Combustibility measurement; sampling ND.
  - “flammability value: 2”
    
    FLAMITS record 7951; Ignitability measurement; sampling ND.
- Primary study Massari1998: Massari, G., & Leopaldi, A. (1998). Leaf flammability in Mediterranean species. Plant Biosystems - An International Journal Dealing with all Aspects of Plant Biology, 132, 29-38.
  
  Shared row context: plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying yes; device epiradiator; site Massari1998-1; sampling ND.
  - Shared measurement context: Ignitability measurement.
    - “time to flaming (s): 190”
      
      FLAMITS record 8964.
    - “time to smoke (s): 25”
      
      FLAMITS record 8998.
  - Shared measurement context: Combustibility measurement.
    - “maximum flame temperature (°C): 396”
      
      FLAMITS record 8981.
    - “maximum flame temperature (°C): 253”
      
      FLAMITS record 9015.
    - “maximum flame temperature (°C): 357”
      
      FLAMITS record 9048.
  - “smouldering duration (s): 150”
    
    FLAMITS record 9032; Sustainability measurement.
- Primary study Molina2017: Molina, J. R., Martín, T., Rodríguez Y Silva, F., & Herrera, M. Á. (2017). The ignition index based on flammability of vegetation improves planning in the wildland-urban interface: A case study in Southern Spain. Landscape and Urban Planning, 158, 129-138.
  
  Shared row context: plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying no; device epiradiator; site Molina2017-1; sampling summer.
  - Shared measurement context: Ignitability measurement.
    - “time to flaming (s): 13.18”
      
      FLAMITS record 9301.
    - “flammability value: 4”
      
      FLAMITS record 9337.
  - “flaming duration (s): 9.84”
    
    FLAMITS record 9319; Sustainability measurement.
- Primary study Molina2019: Molina, J., Lora, A., Prades, C., & Silva, F. R. (2019). Roadside vegetation planning and conservation: New approach to prevent and mitigate wildfires based on fire ignition potential. Forest ecology and management, 444, 163-173.
  
  Shared row context: plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying no; device epiradiator; site Molina2019-1; sampling july and september.
  - Shared measurement context: Ignitability measurement.
    - “time to flaming (s): 23.91”
      
      FLAMITS record 9361.
    - “flammability value: 1.02”
      
      FLAMITS record 9403.
  - “flaming duration (s): 8.81”
    
    FLAMITS record 9375; Sustainability measurement.
  - “flame height (cm): 8.29”
    
    FLAMITS record 9389; Combustibility measurement.
- “time to flaming (s): 12.16”
  
  FLAMITS record 9703; Ignitability measurement; plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying no; device muffle furnace; site Murray2013-1; sampling march to april. Primary study Murray2013: Murray, B. R., Hardstaff, L. K., & Phillips, M. L. (2013). Differences in leaf flammability, leaf traits and flammability-trait relationships between native and exotic plant species of dry sclerophyll forest. PLoS One, 8, e79205.
- Primary study Petriccione2006: Petriccione, M. (2006). Infiammabilità della lettiera di diverse specie vegetali di ambiente mediterráneo. Tesi Di Dottorato. Università Degli Studi Di Napoli Federico II.
  
  Shared row context: plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying no; device epiradiator; site Petriccione2006-1; sampling may to june.
  - Shared measurement context: Ignitability measurement.
    - “time to flaming (s): 15.66”
      
      FLAMITS record 10497.
    - “ignition frequency (%): 48”
      
      FLAMITS record 10499.
    - “flammability value: 4”
      
      FLAMITS record 10500.
  - “burning duration (s): 12.66”
    
    FLAMITS record 10498; Sustainability measurement.
- Primary study Saura2010: Saura-Mas, S., Paula, S., Pausas, J. G,. & Lloret, F. (2010). Fuel loading and flammability in the Mediterranean Basin woody species with different post-fire regenerative strategies. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 19, 783.
  
  Shared row context: plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying no; device epiradiator; site Saura2010-1; sampling august.
  - Shared measurement context: Ignitability measurement.
    - “temperature at flaming (°C): 433.67”
      
      FLAMITS record 12135.
    - “time to smoke (s): 80”
      
      FLAMITS record 12201.
    - “temperature at smoke (°C): 127.1”
      
      FLAMITS record 12238.
    - “time to smouldering (s): 194.6”
      
      FLAMITS record 12274.
    - “temperature at smouldering (°C): 299.3”
      
      FLAMITS record 12310.
  - “flaming duration (s): 231.4”
    
    FLAMITS record 12167; Sustainability measurement.
- Primary study Weise2005: Weise, D. R., White, R. H., Beall, F. C., & Etlinger, M. (2005). Use of the cone calorimeter to detect seasonal differences in selected combustion characteristics of ornamental vegetation. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 14, 321-338.
  
  Shared row context: plant part leaves; fuel live; device calorimeter; site Weise2005-1.
  - “time to flaming (s): 99”
    
    FLAMITS record 13750; Ignitability measurement; predrying no; sampling august.
  - “time to flaming (s): 91”
    
    FLAMITS record 13751; Ignitability measurement; predrying no; sampling december.
  - “time to flaming (s): 106”
    
    FLAMITS record 13752; Ignitability measurement; predrying no; sampling march.
  - “time to flaming (s): 103”
    
    FLAMITS record 13753; Ignitability measurement; predrying no; sampling may.
  - Shared measurement context: Combustibility measurement; predrying yes; sampling august.
    - “maximum energy flux (kW/m²): 260”
      
      FLAMITS record 13775.
    - “calorific value (kcal/kg): 4155.92”
      
      FLAMITS record 13813.
  - Shared measurement context: Combustibility measurement; predrying yes; sampling december.
    - “maximum energy flux (kW/m²): 287”
      
      FLAMITS record 13776.
    - “calorific value (kcal/kg): 4108.15”
      
      FLAMITS record 13814.
  - Shared measurement context: Combustibility measurement; predrying yes; sampling march.
    - “maximum energy flux (kW/m²): 302”
      
      FLAMITS record 13777.
    - “calorific value (kcal/kg): 4490.3”
      
      FLAMITS record 13815.
  - Shared measurement context: Combustibility measurement; predrying yes; sampling may.
    - “maximum energy flux (kW/m²): 264”
      
      FLAMITS record 13778.
    - “calorific value (kcal/kg): 4347”
      
      FLAMITS record 13816.
  - Shared measurement context: Combustibility measurement; predrying no; sampling august.
    - “maximum energy flux (kW/m²): 127”
      
      FLAMITS record 13851.
    - “calorific value (kcal/kg): 1910.77”
      
      FLAMITS record 13889.
  - Shared measurement context: Combustibility measurement; predrying no; sampling december.
    - “maximum energy flux (kW/m²): 165”
      
      FLAMITS record 13852.
    - “calorific value (kcal/kg): 2006.31”
      
      FLAMITS record 13890.
  - Shared measurement context: Combustibility measurement; predrying no; sampling march.
    - “maximum energy flux (kW/m²): 140”
      
      FLAMITS record 13853.
    - “calorific value (kcal/kg): 1958.54”
      
      FLAMITS record 13891.
  - Shared measurement context: Combustibility measurement; predrying no; sampling may.
    - “maximum energy flux (kW/m²): 127”
      
      FLAMITS record 13854.
    - “calorific value (kcal/kg): 1839.11”
      
      FLAMITS record 13892.
- Primary study White1996: White, R. H., Weise, D. R., & Frommer, S. (1996). Preliminary evaluation of the flammability of native and ornamental plants with the cone calorimeter. 21st International Conference on Fire Safety. Coimbra, Portugal.
  
  Shared row context: Combustibility measurement; plant part leaves; fuel live; device calorimeter; site White1996-1; sampling ND.
  - Shared measurement context: predrying no.
    - “energy flux (kW/m²): 78”
      
      FLAMITS record 13981.
    - “energy flux (kW/m²): 145”
      
      FLAMITS record 14002.
    - “maximum energy flux (kW/m²): 127”
      
      FLAMITS record 14006.
    - “maximum energy flux (kW/m²): 196”
      
      FLAMITS record 14008.
    - “calorific value (kcal/kg): 2101.84”
      
      FLAMITS record 14009.
    - “calorific value (kcal/kg): 2890.03”
      
      FLAMITS record 14054.
  - Shared measurement context: predrying yes.
    - “energy flux (kW/m²): 161”
      
      FLAMITS record 13993.
    - “maximum energy flux (kW/m²): 258”
      
      FLAMITS record 14007.
    - “calorific value (kcal/kg): 4561.95”
      
      FLAMITS record 14044.
- Primary study White2002: White, R. H., Weise, D. R., Mackes, K., & Dibble, A. C. (2002). Cone calorimeter testing of vegetation--an update. Ninth International Conference on Electrical and Electronic Products. Columbus, Ohio, USA.
  
  Shared row context: Combustibility measurement; plant part leaves; fuel live; device calorimeter; site White2002-1.
  - Shared measurement context: predrying yes; sampling august.
    - “calorific value (kcal/kg): 5159.07”
      
      FLAMITS record 14176.
    - “maximum energy flux (kW/m²): 258”
      
      FLAMITS record 14229.
  - Shared measurement context: predrying yes; sampling november.
    - “calorific value (kcal/kg): 5111.3”
      
      FLAMITS record 14177.
    - “maximum energy flux (kW/m²): 285”
      
      FLAMITS record 14230.
  - Shared measurement context: predrying yes; sampling march.
    - “calorific value (kcal/kg): 4944.11”
      
      FLAMITS record 14178.
    - “maximum energy flux (kW/m²): 279”
      
      FLAMITS record 14231.
  - Shared measurement context: predrying yes; sampling may.
    - “calorific value (kcal/kg): 4896.34”
      
      FLAMITS record 14179.
    - “maximum energy flux (kW/m²): 238”
      
      FLAMITS record 14232.
  - “maximum energy flux (kW/m²): 127”
    
    FLAMITS record 14267; predrying no; sampling august.
  - “maximum energy flux (kW/m²): 165”
    
    FLAMITS record 14268; predrying no; sampling november.
  - “maximum energy flux (kW/m²): 126”
    
    FLAMITS record 14269; predrying no; sampling march.
  - “maximum energy flux (kW/m²): 115”
    
    FLAMITS record 14270; predrying no; sampling may.
- Primary study Wyse2016: Wyse, S. V., Perry, G. L. W., O'Connell, D. M., Holland, P. S., Wright, M. J., Hosted, C. L., ... Curran, T. J. (2016). A quantitative assessment of shoot flammability for 60 tree and shrub species supports rankings based on expert opinion. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 25, 466-477.
  
  Shared row context: plant part branches; fuel all; predrying yes; device grill; site Wyse2016-1; sampling ND.
  - “ignition frequency (%): 100”
    
    FLAMITS record 14359; Ignitability measurement.
  - “maximum sample temperature (°C): 456.8”
    
    FLAMITS record 14419; Combustibility measurement.
  - “burning duration (s): 12.6”
    
    FLAMITS record 14479; Sustainability measurement.
  - “estimated burnt biomass (%): 13.1”
    
    FLAMITS record 14539; Consumability measurement.
- Primary study Pacheco2022: Pacheco, A. S., Goodman, H. D., Hankenson, L., Fisk, J. J., Ortiz, A., Marinace, H. M., ... Tng, D. Y. P. (2022). Fighting fire with food: Assessing the flammability of crop plant species for building fire resilient agroforestry systems. in review, preprint.
  
  Shared row context: plant part branches; fuel all; predrying yes; device grill; site Pacheco2022-1; sampling october to november 2022.
  - “maximum flame temperature (°C): 483.18”
    
    FLAMITS record 16417; Combustibility measurement.
  - “burning duration (s): 8.6”
    
    FLAMITS record 16418; Sustainability measurement.
  - “estimated burnt biomass (%): 6”
    
    FLAMITS record 16419; Consumability measurement.
- Primary study Murray2023: Murray, B. R., Hawthorne, T., Curran, T. J., Krix, D. W., Wallace, M. I., Young, K., ... & Webb, J. K. (2023). Shoot flammability patterns among plant species of the wildlandurban interface in the fire-prone Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. International Journal of Wildland Fire, Online early.
  
  Shared row context: plant part branches; fuel all; predrying yes; device grill; site Murray2023-1; sampling ND.
  - “time to flaming (s): 2.42”
    
    FLAMITS record 19429; Ignitability measurement.
  - “burning duration (s): 6.14”
    
    FLAMITS record 19430; Sustainability measurement.
  - “maximum flame temperature (°C): 255.14”
    
    FLAMITS record 19431; Combustibility measurement.
  - “estimated burnt biomass (%): 2”
    
    FLAMITS record 19432; Consumability measurement.

Fire-resistant trees instead

sweetgum
Liquidambar styraciflua

white ash
Fraxinus americana

Lombardy poplar
Populus nigra 'Italica'

boxelder
Acer negundo

honeylocust
Gleditsia triacanthos

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Ulmus parvifolia

Fire-resistant trees listed above

Last verified 2026-08-23. JSON (CC BY 4.0)

Profiles: USDA PLANTS · GBIF · iNaturalist · Wikidata · Wikipedia · ITIS

Olea europaea (Olive). FireApproved. https://fireapproved.com/plants/olea-europaea/. Last verified 2026-08-23.

1. Fire evidence and conditions

2. Why this plant is relevant here

3. Legal, ecological, and broader status

Native and introduced range evidence

0

1

0

Plant hardiness evidence

Conditions in the fire evidence

Where its sources say to plant it

The evidence

Recommends (1)

Avoids (2)

Mid-scale / conditional (4)

Related plants

Fire-resistant trees instead