Flora of North America species comparison

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Elaeagnus umbellata

autumn-olive, Japanese silverberry, oleaster
Habit Shrubs or trees, to 5 m, clonal.
Stems

armed when young, unarmed when older, silvery-green becoming densely brown-scaly in age.
Leaves

deciduous;

blade elliptic or ovate, (2–)3–8(–10) × 1–2.5 cm, margins entire or ± wavy, surfaces silvery-scaly abaxially, sparsely pubescent, dark green, glossy adaxially.
Flowers

densely clustered, 3+, appearing to encircle stems;

hypanthium narrowly funnelform, 7–8 mm distal to constriction;

calyx yellow to cream-white, 3.5–4 mm, calyx lobes with silver scales outside, glabrous inside;

nectary disc conspicuous.
Fruits

bright red or pink, ovoid, 6–8 mm, fleshy, lepidote.

Elaeagnus umbellata
Phenology Flowering Apr–May.
Habitat Sandy soils, open areas, oak-hickory woodlands, mesic forests.
Elevation 0–300 m. (0–1000 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MO; MS; MT; NC; NE; NJ; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; TN; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; NB; NS; ON; e Asia (China, Japan, Korea) [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

The flowers of Elaeagnus umbellata are more densely clustered and umbel-like than in other species of the genus in the flora area. Originally introduced for soil conservation and as food for wildlife, it is not considered a good plant for home landscapes because it has a tendency to become weedy (M. A. Dirr 2009). The species thrives in acidic or basic soils and birds spread the seeds.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 10.
Parent taxa Elaeagnaceae > Elaeagnus
Sibling taxa
E. angustifolia, E. commutata, E. multiflora, E. pungens
Synonyms E. parvifolia, E. umbellata var. parvifolia
Name authority Thunberg in J. A. Murray: Syst. Veg. ed. 14, 164. (1784)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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