Olmediella is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Salicaceae. It consists of one species of trees: Olmediella betschleriana, which is native to Central America. Formerly placed in the heterogeneous family Flacourtiaceae,[1] Olmediella is now classified in Salicaceae,[2] along with close relatives Bennettiodendron, Carrierea, Idesia, Itoa, Macrohasseltia, Poliothyrsis, and even the willows (Salix) and cottonwoods (Populus) themselves.[3]
Olmediella has a number of features that point to its close relationship to the willows (Salix), including flowers subtended by prominent bracts, flowers with a highly reduced calyx, and nectaries located next to each stamen or pistil. Its sometimes spiny-margined leaves, though, are unlike those of any Salix, and some early botanists even included the species in the genus Ilex.