Russian olive information

• Elaeagnus angustifolia is a perennial deciduous tree or shrub in the Elaeagnaceae family

• Clusters of small, yellow, fragrant flowers produce small olive-shaped fruits that are protected by 2-inch thorns

• Long, narrow, silvery, aromatic leaves covered with scaly pubescence

• Reddish-brown stems and flexible twigs coated with gray pubescence

• Reproduces from seed and lateral roots that spread from a central taproot

• Forms dense, impenetrable stands in river corridors, choking out native vegetation

For more information....

USDA PLANTS database

Wyoming Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey

Russian olive – Elaeagnus angustifolia

Pronunciation: el-ee-ag-nus an-gus-ti-foh-lee-uh

Leaf: Alternate, simple, oblong lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 1 – 3” long 3/8 – 5/8” wide, dull green and scaly above, silvery – scaly beneath acute to obtuse, entire margin.

Flower: Perfect, campanulate with 4 spreading lobes as long as the tube, silvery or whitish outside, yellow inside, 3/8” long, fragrant, difficult to see among the foliage.

Fruit: Drupe-like, considered an achene covered by a fleshy perianth, ½” long, yellow and coated with silvery scales, August to Sept., the flesh is sweet and mealy.

Twig: Young branches are silvery, sometimes thorny, covered in scales. Older branches, brown colored, with a brown pith.

Bark: Reddish-brown, thin, somewhat exfoliating, with shallow fissures.

Form: Large shrub, small tree, open growing, rounded outline.

Looks like: silverberry - autumn-olive - buffaloberry - sandbar willow