Fontanesia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae, usually treated as comprising a single species Fontanesia phillyreoides, though some authors split this into two species (see below).

The leaves are opposite, lanceolate to narrow ovate, 3–12 cm long and 8–26 mm broad, with an acute apex and a usually entire margin, sometimes finely serrated.

The flowers are white, with a deeply four-lobed corolla; they are produced in panicles 2–6 cm long.

phillyreoides are sometimes cited as having finely serrated margins, but this character is not reliable.

[6] The species epithet was originally published erroneously as "philliraeoides", but this is a correctable error, because it refers to the genus Phillyrea.