autumn olive (Invasive Plants of Maryland)

autumn olive

Elaeagnus umbellata

Description and biology ⁷

Plant: deciduous shrub that can grow to 20 ft. in height; stems, buds and leaves have a dense covering of silvery to rusty scales.
Leaves: alternate; deciduous; egg or lance-shaped, smooth margined, dull green above and often with brown scales beneath.
Flowers, fruits and seeds: flowers occur in June and July; aromatic, pale yellow, fused at the base with 4 petals pointed at the tips; fruits are produced August through October; small, red-brown to pink and dotted with brown or silvery scales; abundant.
Spreads: by seed that is dispersed by birds and mammals; some vegetative propagation also occurs.
Look-alikes: Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) leaves are narrow-elongate with silvery scales on both sides and fruit is mealy, yellow or silvery; thorny olive (E. pungens) has leaves that are persistent, egg-shaped with wavy margins, upper surfaces shiny green, lacking scales, and lower surfaces covered with dull white scales and dotted with light brown scales.

Conservation status ⁸

More info for the terms: invasive species, natural

Autumn-olive is ranked as a "severe threat" (exotic plant species that possess characteristics of invasive species and spread easily into native plant communities and displace native vegetation) by the Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council [54]. It is also ranked as a "severe threat" (exotic plant species which possess characteristics of invasive species and spread easily into native plant communities and displace native vegetation; includes species which are or could become widespread in Kentucky) by the Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council [30].

Autumn-olive is listed among the top 10 exotic pest plants in Georgia [17], and among "highly invasive species" (species that may disrupt ecosystem processes and cause major alterations in plant community composition and structure and that establish readily in natural systems and spread rapidly) by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation [69]. It is listed as a Category II exotic plant species (considered to have the potential to displace native plants either on a localized or widespread scale) by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources and The Nature Conservancy of Vermont [68], and as a noxious weed in several West Virginia counties [64].

U.S. Forest Service Region 8 (Southern Region) lists autumn-olive as a category 1 weed (exotic plant species that are known to be invasive and persistent throughout all or most of their range within the Southern Region and that can spread into and persist in native plant communities and displace native plant species and therefore pose a demonstrable threat to the integrity of the natural plant communities in the Region). The introduction of Category 1 Species is prohibited on National Forest System Lands [65].

Risk statement ⁹

Stewardship Overview: Elaeagnus umbellata is planted in some states for wildlife cover. It invades disturbed areas adjacent to the plantings where encroachment can be rapid due to the high production of seeds, high germination rate, and hardiness of the plants. It also resprouts quickly after burning or cutting. Repeating cutting or burning may prevent spread, but may need to be conducted for many years, as resprouting will occur. Herbicides offer more effective control, and glyphosate is commonly painted on stumps after cutting in a 10-20% dilution in late August or September. Foliar sprays of glyphosate and dicamba may be effective but will damage other vegetation under the olive. Basal applications of triclopyr alone or in combination with 2,4-D applied in March (dormant season) will also provide effective control.

Species Impact: Elaeagnus umbellata has the potential of becoming one of the most troublesome adventive shrubs in the central and eastern United States (Sternberg 1982). It exhibits prolific fruiting, rapid growth, is widely disseminated by birds, and can easily adapt to many sites. It is vigorous and competitive against native species, and resprouts after cutting (Nestleroad et al. 1984). Due to its nitrogen-fixing capabilities, it has the capacity to adversely affect the nitrogen cycle of native communities that may depend on infertile soils. E. umbellata is just beginning to be recognized as a potentially serious problem exotic. Seeds are still distributed for wildlife plantings in some states such as Missouri, although the state conservation department is working to stop distribution (Kurz pers. comm.).

History in the united states ¹⁰

Autumn olive was introduced into the United States in 1830 and widely planted as an ornamental, for wildlife habitat, as windbreaks and to restore deforested and degraded lands.

Sources and Credits

(c) D.J. McNeil, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by D.J. McNeil
no rights reserved, uploaded by Kent McFarland
(c) Jenny Smith, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Jenny Smith
(c) jcavicch, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by jcavicch
(c) Priyantha Wijesinghe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Priyantha Wijesinghe
(c) Chelsea Clifford, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Chelsea Clifford
(c) Unknown, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/22733883
Public Domain, http://eol.org/data_objects/24635892
(c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/29041482
(c) Unknown, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/22733880

More Info

Range Map

iNat Map

Flower color	white

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autumn olive

Description and biology 7

Conservation status 8

Risk statement 9

History in the united states 10