Russian Olive (Invasive Plants of the Kaibab National Forest)

Russian Olive

Elaeagnus angustifolia

Summary ⁷

Elaeagnus angustifolia, commonly called silver berry,oleaster,Russian olive, or wild olive, is a species of Elaeagnus, native to western and central Asia, from southern Russia and Kazakhstan to Turkey and Iran. It is now also widely established in North America as an introduced species.

Description ⁸

Shrubs or small trees, 3-7(-10) m tall. Bark reddish brown; spines absent or sharp, 0.7-3 cm; young branches and both leaf surfaces silvery white, densely stellate-scaly, or adaxially grayish green or green and nearly without scales (var. virescens). Petiole 5-8 mm, 1/5-1/4 as long as blade; leaf blade oblong-lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, sometimes elliptic-lanceolate, ovate, or oblong-ovate, (2.5-)4-8(-10) × 0.4-3.2(-4) cm, adaxially dull green, or both surfaces silvery, with only white scales, base usually broadly cuneate, apex obtuse or subacute. Flowers 1-3 in axils of older leaves. Pedicel short, ca. 2 mm. Flowers fragrant, outside silvery white, with dense white scales and sparse small yellowish glands, inside yellow. Calyx tube campanulate or broadly campanulate (f. culta), ca. as long as limb, 5-6 × 2.5-3(-5) mm; lobes lanceolate, ovate, or triangular-lanceolate, slightly shorter than tube, inside yellow and glabrous, with sparse small brownish glands, distinctly 3-veined, apex ± acute. Filaments short; anthers oblong. Style base enclosed by tubular disk, curved in upper part, ca. as long as calyx. Drupe yellowish brown, globose-ovoid, globose, or subglobose (var. caspica), 0.7-2.5 × 0.5-1.3 cm, densely silvery scaly when young, subglabrous when mature; scales sparse, brownish; flesh sweet, mealy; stone oblong, oblong-ovoid, or narrowly cylindric (f. culta), both ends obtuse or pointed. Fl. May-Jun, fr. Aug-Oct. 2n = 28.