View original imageThis is an original generative reconstruction, not a photograph or scientific plate.
133 / Recently extinct
Saint Helena Olive
Nesiota elliptica
It was not a true olive; the last wild tree died in 1994 and its last cultivated descendant in 2003.
Structured expansion · editorial review pending
- Time range
- Prehistory–2003
- Final stage
- Early 21st century
- Geographic range
- Diana's Peak, Saint Helena, South Atlantic
01 / ANSWER FIRST
What was Saint Helena Olive?
This archive records Saint Helena Olive under the scientific name Nesiota elliptica, with an age of Prehistory–2003 and a range of Diana's Peak, Saint Helena, South Atlantic. It was not a true olive; the last wild tree died in 1994 and its last cultivated descendant in 2003.
Nesiota elliptica was the sole species of its genus, a buckthorn-family tree of humid mountain forest. Propagation attempts produced only a handful of short-lived descendants.
02 / QUICK FACTS
Saint Helena Olive at a glance
- Scientific name
- Nesiota elliptica
- Age
- Prehistory–2003
- Last recorded stage
- Early 21st century
- Known range
- Diana's Peak, Saint Helena, South Atlantic
- Broad group
- plant
- Archive era
- Recently extinct
- Habitat signals
- plant communities, soils, water availability and climate
- Documented regions
- Diana's Peak, Saint Helena, South Atlantic
03 / ANATOMY
How was Saint Helena Olive built?
Overall body plan
It was not a true olive; the last wild tree died in 1994 and its last cultivated descendant in 2003.
Growth architecture
The available record is interpreted through preserved proportions, attachment surfaces, wear and comparison with related organisms. For Saint Helena Olive, those observations must be separated from features added only for visual reconstruction.
Reproductive structures
Nesiota elliptica was the sole species of its genus, a buckthorn-family tree of humid mountain forest. Propagation attempts produced only a handful of short-lived descendants.
Growth and individual variation
A single specimen does not define the whole species. Size, maturity, preservation and possible sex differences are considered before anatomical traits are treated as typical of Saint Helena Olive.
04 / DIET & BEHAVIOUR
How did Saint Helena Olive live?
Nesiota elliptica was the sole species of its genus, a buckthorn-family tree of humid mountain forest. Propagation attempts produced only a handful of short-lived descendants. This ecological reconstruction is strongest where anatomy, associated organisms and the depositional setting point in the same direction.
05 / DIET & BEHAVIOUR
What shaped its ecological limits?
Its populations depended on plant communities, soils, water availability and climate. Changes in any one factor did not necessarily cause immediate extinction, but interacting pressures could reduce range, recruitment and resilience.
06 / RANGE & HABITAT
Where and when did Saint Helena Olive live?
This archive currently lists Prehistory–2003; Diana's Peak, Saint Helena, South Atlantic. Fossil or historical occurrence data describe where evidence has been found, not every place the taxon once occupied. Species-level age and range limits still require source-specific review.
Documented geographic range
Diana's Peak, Saint Helena, South Atlantic. This boundary can change when specimens are reidentified or new localities are published.
Time window
Prehistory–2003, with the final recorded stage listed as Early 21st century. Rock units and dating uncertainty mean the true biological range may extend beyond the known record.
Environmental setting
The archive uses the broad habitat labels plant communities, soils, water availability and climate. These labels help explore related records; a habitat reconstruction requires evidence from individual localities.
07 / FOSSIL EVIDENCE
What evidence supports reconstructions of Saint Helena Olive?
Primary record
Historic floras, eight herbarium sheets, photographs, wood and DNA stored at Kew preserve its record.
Comparative anatomy
Preserved structures are compared with close and functionally similar organisms. The method can constrain posture and function, but analogy alone cannot prove colour, behaviour or soft tissue.
Age and locality
Stratigraphy and occurrence records place Saint Helena Olive within Prehistory–2003 and Diana's Peak, Saint Helena, South Atlantic. Reworked fossils and uncertain provenance are treated cautiously.
Open entity records
Links below connect the archive to available taxonomic and occurrence records. A matching name does not verify every ecological claim, and related-taxon links provide comparison rather than an exact species match.
08 / DISAPPEARANCE & DEBATE
Why did Saint Helena Olive disappear?
Logging, goat browsing and habitat loss left a tiny population; reproductive failure, fungus and small-population effects finished the decline.
The last fossil or observation marks the youngest evidence currently known, not necessarily the death of the final individual. Explanations are strongest when timing, environmental change and population biology agree; otherwise the profile preserves uncertainty instead of assigning a single dramatic cause.
09 / FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Saint Helena Olive FAQ
What was Saint Helena Olive?
This archive records Saint Helena Olive under the scientific name Nesiota elliptica, with an age of Prehistory–2003. It was not a true olive; the last wild tree died in 1994 and its last cultivated descendant in 2003.
When did Saint Helena Olive live?
The current archive range is Prehistory–2003; its youngest recorded stage is Early 21st century.
Where was Saint Helena Olive found?
The archive currently lists Diana's Peak, Saint Helena, South Atlantic. Species-level locality assignments and the full geographic range still require source-specific review.
How do scientists know about Saint Helena Olive?
Historic floras, eight herbarium sheets, photographs, wood and DNA stored at Kew preserve its record.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Completed an AI-assisted bilingual audit of the archive record, corrected identified issues and clarified evidence limits; independent editorial review is pending.
- Expanded into a structured bilingual profile with anatomy, ecology, range, evidence, debate and FAQs; independent editorial review is pending.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS