autumn olive
Family
ElaegnaceaeScientific Name
Elaeagnus umbellata
Other Common Names:
oleaster
Leaves
Alternate, elliptic to ovate in outline, approximately 1 1/4 to 3 inches long, 1/2 to 1 1/4 inches wide. Upper leaf surfaces are dark green while leaf undersides are covered with grayish or silver 'scales'. Leaf margins are often wavy (undulate) and are untoothed.
Identifying Characteristics
A woody shrub that may reach up to 20 feet in height with yellow to cream colored flowers that appear in the spring and bunches of red berries that appear in the early fall. Woody, invasive shrubs that have a silvery cast and conspicuous red berries. Autumn olive is similar in appearance to russian olive, but russian olive has leaves that are much more elliptic to lanceolate, and has branches that are usually thorny.
Flower Seed Head
Occur in clusters of 5 to 10 in the region between the central stem and branches (axillary clusters). Individual flowers are approximately 1/2 inch long, are creamy white to yellow in color, and are also covered with silvery 'scales'.
Seed Fruit
A red to pink berry, speckled with scales, and also occurs in axillary clusters throughout the plant.
Where Found
Autumn olive was introduced into the United States from east Asia in the 1830's and is now an invasive weed of pastures, hay fields, roadsides, and rights-of-way. Autumn olive is found from Maine to Virginia, and west to Wisconsin.
Growth Habit
woody bush or tree
Thorns or Spines
present
Approximate Flower Diameter
pencil
Dominant Flower Color
white
Flower Symmetry
bilateral symmetry
Leaf Hairs
Varies:
has hairs,
no hairs
Leaf Shape
oval
Leaf Arrangement
alternate
Leaf Margin
entire
Leaf Structure
simple
Leaf Stalk
shorter than leaf
Stem Hairs
Varies:
has hairs,
no hairs
Stem Cross Section
round or oval
Milky Sap
not present
Root Structure
taproot
Life Cycle
perennial
Ochrea
not present
Plant Type
Shrub