Daphne oleoides subsp. oleoides Schreber (1766) | var. brachyloba Meissner (1857) | var. buxifolia (Vahl) Keissler (1898) | var. glandulosa (Bertoloni) Keissler (1898) |

Daphne oleoides subsp. baksanica (Pobedimova) Halda (1998)

Daphne oleoides subsp. kurdica Bornmüller (1911)

Daphne oleoides subsp. transcaucasica (Pobedimova) Halda (1998)

widespread taxa from S-Europe and N-Africa to Asia Minor / up to 0,6 m high occasionally somewhat higher and wider / evergreen / hardy / scented / flowers white, sometimes purplish outside / orange fruits / on calcareous rocks and rocky slopes /

Daphne oleoides subsp. oleoides - upright growth, young shoots and leaves soft haired, later hairs only on the upper leave surface;

Daphne oleoides var. brachyloba - later hairs only on the lower leaf surface, densely leafy habit, S-Europe,

Daphne oleoides var. buxifolia - branches villose and leaves silky on both sides, in the North of the Mediterranean Sea;

Daphne oleoides var. glandulosa - branches hairless and also leaves are only silky on the abaxial surface, from Italy to the Balcan;

Daphne oleoides subsp. baksanica - more or less prostrate growth, narrow leaves with long hairs, different hypanthium and disc, Russia Baksan River;

Daphne oleoides subsp. kurdica - cushion shaped habit, densely soft haired leaves, different disc, from Turkey to Iran;

Daphne oleoides subsp. transcaucasica - robust, sericeous form, different hypanthium and disc, Transcaucasus region;

important characteristics to distinguish the different subspecies and variations are the habit and the hairiness of the leaves, it is a bit problematic that the cultivation in gardens influences the intensity of hairiness;

occasionally the flowers are variable in colour - not always pure white or cream also a pinkish or purplish tinged calyx tube is possible and sometimes the flowers do not always open (cleistogamous) - Daphne oleoides ‘Euboica’ is a cleistogamous Daphne oleoides relative from Spain, compact forms of Daphne oleoides exist and also forms that are very similar to Daphne domini but these forms have a more open habit and are bigger than Daphne domini;

Daphne oleoides is closely related with Daphne domini and Daphne kosaninii;

Daphne ‘Palermo’ is supposed to be a Daphne oleoides from Italy first cultivated in the Botanical Garden of Palermo, Italy.

Hybrids with Daphne oleoides are:

Daphne x beata, Daphne x poetica, Daphne x sillingeri, a natural hybrid with Daphne velenovskyi from SW-Bulgaria,

from Mt. Vermion in Greece comes Daphne sojakii treated in the monograph of Mr. Halda as a species but considered to be also a natural hybrid of Daphne oleoides