Osmanthus heterophyllus

The false holly, holly osmanthus or holly olive is a small tree in the olive or Oleaceae family, native to eastern Asia, Japan (Honshū, Kyūshū, Shikoku), the Ryukyu Islands (Russia) and Taiwan. They range in size from shrubs to small trees.

• Leaves are evergreen, opposite [not alternate as in hollies], simple, 3–7 cm long and 1.5–4 cm broad with a thick, leathery texture, lustrous dark green above, paler yellow-green below; the margin is entire or with 1-4 large spine-tipped teeth on each side. Spiny leaves predominate on small, young plants (an adaptation to deter browsing animals), while entire leaves predominate higher on larger mature plants out of the reach of animals.
• Plant is dioecious; female flowers are very fragrant, white, 4-petaled, blooming from the leaf axils in small clusters in the autumn.
• Fruit is an ovoid dark purple drupe, 1.5 cm long and 1 cm diameter, maturing in the following summer about 9 months after flowering.