Elaeagnus

Elaeagnus (Silverberry or Oleaster) is a genus of about 50–70 species of flowering plants in the Elaeagnaceae. The vast majority of the species are native to temperate and subtropical regions of Asia, with one species (E. triflora) extending south into northeastern Australia, and another species (E. commutata) restricted to North America. A third species (E. angustifolia) may also be native in southeasternmost Europe, though it may be an early human introduction there.

They are deciduous or evergreen shrubs or small trees with alternate leaves. The leaves and shoots are usually covered with tiny silvery to brownish scales, giving the plants a whitish to grey-brown colour from a distance. The flowers are small, with a four-lobed calyx and no petals; they are often fragrant. The fruit is a fleshy drupe containing a single seed; it is edible in many species, though generally lacking a good flavour. Several species are cultivated for their fruit, including E. angustifolia, E. umbellata and E. multiflora. Although they are cultivated more in China than elsewhere, they are growing in popularity in the rest of the world.


Selected species
Elaeagnus angustifolia (Russian Silverberry, Oleaster, or Russian-olive) is a species of Elaeagnus, native to western and central Asia, from southern Russia and Kazakhstan to Turkey.
It is a usually thorny shrub or small tree growing to 5-7 m in height. Its stems, buds, and leaves have a dense covering of silvery to rusty scales. The leaves are alternate, lanceolate, 4-9 cm long and 1-2.5 cm broad, with a smooth margin. The highly aromatic flowers are produced in clusters of 1-3 together, 1 cm long with a four-lobed creamy yellow corolla; they appear in early summer and are later replaced by clusters of fruit, a small cherry-like drupe 1-1.5 cm long, orange-brown covered in silvery scales. The fruit is edible and sweet, though with a dryish mealy texture.


Elaeagnus commutata (American Silverberry or Wolf-willow), is a species of Elaeagnus native to western North America, from southern Alaska through British Columbia east to Manitoba, and south to Utah and across the upper Midwestern Unites States to South Dakota and western Minnesota. It typically grows on dry to moist sandy and gravel soils in steppes, meadows or woodland edges.
It is a shrub or small tree growing to 1–4 m tall. The leaves are broad lanceolate, 2-7 cm long, silvery on both sides with dense small white scales. The flowers are yellow, with a four-lobed corolla 6-14 mm long; they are fragrant. The fruit is an ovoid drupe 9–12 mm long, also covered in silvery scales. The fruit pulp is floury in texture, and surrounds the single seed.
It is cultivated as an ornamental plant for its silvery foliage.


Elaeagnus multiflora (Goumi, Gumi, Natsugumi, or Cherry Silverberry), is a species of Elaeagnus, native to China, Korea and Japan.
It is a deciduous or semi-evergreen shrub or small tree growing to 2-8 m tall, with a trunk up to 30 cm diameter with dark brown bark. The shoots are densely covered in minute red-brown scales. The leaves are ovate to elliptic, 3-10 cm long and 2-5 cm broad, green above, and silvery to orange-brown below with dense small scales.
The flowers are solitary or in pairs in the leaf axils, fragrant, with a four-lobed pale yellowish-white 1.5 cm long corolla; flowering is in mid spring.
The fruit is round to oval drupe 1 cm long, silvery-scaled orange, ripening red dotted with silver or brown, pendulous on a 2-3 cm peduncle. When ripe in mid to late summer, the fruit is juicy and edible, with an acidic taste.
Chinese people have traditionally considered them to be among a group of "nutraceuticals", or foods that are edible and have medicinal values. They are said to decrease cholesterol and have other benefits, but scientific evidence has yet to confirm this belief.
It is occasionally grown in Europe and North America as an ornamental plant and for its fruit. It is naturalised in parts of the eastern United States.


Elaeagnus umbellata, also referred to as Japanese Silverberry, Umbellate Oleaster or Autumn-olive, is a species of Elaeagnus native to eastern Asia from the Himalayas east to Japan. Because airborne nitrogen can be fixed in its roots, it has the capability to grow in infertile habitats. It is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 4-10 m tall, with a dense, thorny crown.

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