Elaeagnus angustifolia

Elaeagnus angustifolia, commonly called Russian olive, silver berry, oleaster, or wild olive, is a species of Elaeagnus, native to Asia and limited areas of eastern Europe. It is widely established in North America as an introduced species.

Description

A large shrub or small tree. It loses its leaves during the year. It grows to 6-9 m high and spreads about 6 m across. The trunk is crooked. The bark is brown and shreds. The new branches and underside of the leaves are covered with silvery scales. The branches can have spines. The leaves are narrow. They are 4-8 cm long. The flowers are small and pale yellow inside but silvery outside. They have a scent. They occur in clusters of 1-3. The fruit are yellow and covered in silvery scales. They are about 2 cm long. They are edible.

Edible Uses

Gum. Fruit - raw or cooked as a seasoning in soups[1, 2, 3, 100, 146, 74]. Dry, sweet and mealy. The fruit can also be made into jellies or sherbets. The fruit must be fully ripe before it can be enjoyed raw, if even slightly under-ripe it will be quite astringent. The oval fruit is about 10mm long and contains a single large seed. Seed - raw or cooked. It can be eaten with the fruit though the seed case is rather fibrous. Edible Uses & Rating: Russian olive ranks as a fair-quality wild fruit. Its strengths are reliability, sweetness, and heavy production. Its weaknesses are astringency, dryness, and the high proportion of stone to flesh. Larger fruits, especially those from trees with better access to water, tend to be sweeter and less astringent than smaller fruits from harsher sites. For a forager, that means tree-by-tree selection matters. Some trees are worth revisiting. Others are barely worth sampling. In a survival or subsistence context, the species has real value because one tree can provide a large volume of edible material with relatively little search time. Taste, Processing & Kitchen Notes: The fruits are usually sweet beneath the surface, but the eating experience is often complicated by a dry, powdery, coarse, mealy texture and an astringency that can range from moderate to excessive. Good fruits can be pleasantly sweet, especially when slightly past full maturity, but even then the flesh often has a “wet sawdust” quality that dries the mouth. Water helps. The best fruits are generally the ripest, largest, and least astringent. Processing can reduce astringency, but it also removes sweetness and some of the food value. Cold-water handling is generally preferable to hot-water treatment for moderating harshness. Dehydrating and grinding produce a bland flour of modest value. This means Russian olive is most useful either as selectively eaten fresh fruit from good trees or as a backup processing fruit when abundance matters more than culinary refinement. Seasonality (Phenology): Russian olive generally flowers from late spring into early summer, often around May to July, and fruits ripen from late summer into autumn. The best harvest period is usually from August to November, especially when fruits are slightly past full maturity but not yet badly weathered. Some fruits persist into winter, but quality usually declines after the main season. Safety & Cautions (Food Use): The main caution is not toxicity of the ripe fruit but the physical and ecological context of the plant. Branches often carry strong thorns, which can make harvesting awkward and sometimes hazardous. The fruits also frequently grow near roadsides, ditches, riverbanks, and disturbed sites, so contamination from dust, runoff, or other pollutants should be considered before harvest. The stone is hard and should not be eaten. In addition, because Russian olive is invasive in many regions, fruit harvest can be ecologically helpful in some places, but moving or spreading seed-bearing material should be avoided. Harvest & Processing Workflow: Harvest the ripest fruits you can find, ideally from trees with larger, softer, sweeter fruits and lower astringency. Picking slightly past maturity often improves flavor. Avoid badly dried or weathered fruits unless no better crop is available. Remove the stones if processing, which can often be done while crumbling the flesh. If using for drying and grinding, dehydrate thoroughly first, then mill and sift as needed. If trying to reduce astringency through soaking, use cold water and expect some loss of sweetness. For fresh use, selective hand-sorting is more important than elaborate processing. Cultivar/Selection Notes: Russian olive is not usually selected in North America as a fruit tree the way apples or plums are, but it clearly varies from tree to tree. Fruit size, sweetness, color, dryness, and astringency all differ. Trees with access to more water commonly produce better fruit. In practical terms, this means a good Russian olive tree is worth remembering, while poor trees are not worth the effort. If one were choosing plants for fruit quality alone, larger-fruited, less astringent, heavier-fleshed trees would be the obvious preference. Look-Alikes & Confusion Risks: Russian olive is distinctive once familiar. It is a thorny shrub or small tree with narrow silvery leaves, fragrant yellowish flowers, and olive-shaped fruits. It can be confused with other silver-leaved Elaeagnus species, especially American silverberry in areas where that species occurs, but American silverberry is usually more shrubby and has rounder leaves. It is also related to autumn olive, but autumn olive generally bears smaller, speckled red fruits rather than the elongated yellowish or reddish olive-like fruits typical of Russian olive. The related buffaloberries in Shepherdia have opposite leaves rather than alternate leaves and typically bright red to orange berries. Traditional/Indigenous Use Summary: Russian olive is an introduced species in North America, so its use as food is more recent than that of native fruiting shrubs and trees. However, once present, it became incorporated into local foraging because of its dependable fruiting. Its close relatives also show that the group has real food potential, even if the Russian olive is not the finest-fruited member. In traditional use terms, it is better seen as an adopted resource than as an ancient Indigenous staple in the Southwest.

Traditional Uses

The fruit is eaten dried and raw or cooked. They are made into jellies and sherbets. The ripe fruit is sweet. They are also used for fermenting and distilling an alcoholic drink. Caution: Alcohol is a cause of cancer.

Medicinal Uses

Oil from the seeds, combined with syrup, is used as an electuary for treating catarrh and bronchial conditions. The juice of the flowers has been used in treating malignant fevers. The fruit is a very rich source of vitamins and minerals, particularly vitamins A, C, and E, flavonoids, and other bioactive compounds. It is also a reasonably good source of essential fatty acids, which is unusual for a fruit. It is being investigated for its potential to reduce the incidence of cancer and to halt or reverse cancer growth.

Distribution

It grows in cold desert in north India. It is native to western Asia. It grows along coasts and near riverbanks and in dry riverbeds and floodplains. It does best with warm dry summers. It can tolerate salt soil. It will grow in almost any soils. It needs plenty of sunlight. It is frost hardy. In the Himalayas it grows between 1,800-3,500 m altitude. It can grow in arid places. It suits hardiness zones 2-9.

Where It Grows

Afghanistan, Africa, Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Asia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Balkans, Belarus, Britain, Bulgaria, Canada, Caucasus, Central Asia, China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Egypt, Europe, France, Georgia, Greece, Himalayas, Hungary, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Mediterranean, Middle East, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Netherlands, North Africa, North America, Pakistan, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Tajikistan, Tibet, Turkey, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, USA, Uzbekistan, Yugoslavia,

Cultivation

An easily grown plant, it succeeds in most soils that are well-drained, though it dislikes shallow chalk soils. Prefers a light sandy soil that is only moderately fertile, succeeding in poor soils and dry soils. Requires a position in full sun, growing very well in hot dry positions. Plants are very drought and wind resistant, they tolerate conditions of considerable salinity and alkalinity. A very hardy plant, tolerating temperatures down to about -40°c. However, plants prefer a continental climate and are apt to be cut back in severe winters in Britain because the summer is often not warm enough to have fully ripened the wood. A very variable species. This species is often cultivated in N. Europe for its edible fruits, there are many named varieties and some of these are thornless. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby. An excellent companion plant, when grown in orchards it can increase yields from the fruit trees by up to 10%. Plants are very tolerant of pruning, they usually resprout freely even when cut right back to the ground. This species is notably resistant to honey fungus. The flowers are sweetly and heavily scented. In garden design, as well as the above-ground architecture of a plant, root structure considerations help in choosing plants that work together for their optimal soil requirements including nutrients and water. Thick or swollen - fibrous or tap root. Elaeagnus species are relatively fast-growing shrubs or small trees, typically reaching maturity in 3 to 5 years. They can grow to heights of 1 to 5 meters (3 to 16 feet) depending on the species and growing conditions. Fruits from Elaeagnus species are usually harvested in late summer to early autumn, depending on the species and local climate. Elaeagnus species generally flower in late spring to early summer depending on the specific species and environmental conditions. Many Elaeagnus species are self-fertile, meaning they can produce fruit without needing another plant for cross-pollination. Russian olive, now best referred to as Elaeagnus angustifolia, belongs to the oleaster family (Elaeagnaceae) and the genus Elaeagnus. Common names include Russian olive and Asian silverberry. It is a thorny deciduous shrub or small tree that is generally hardy in roughly USDA Zones 3–8, and sometimes beyond in dry inland climates. Mature plants commonly reach about 3–9 m tall and 3–8 m wide, though old trees along waterways can become broader and more substantial than drought-stressed plants on drier ground. Habitat & Range: It is now naturalized across much of the United States and is especially common in the central and western states. It is frequently found along riverbanks, sandy washes, lakeshores, roadsides, and disturbed ground. In many interior western regions it is most abundant in riparian corridors and other places where birds and water help disperse seed. Size & Landscape Performance: As a landscape tree, Russian olive is valued for its narrow silvery leaves, fragrant flowers, rapid establishment, and tolerance of difficult soils. It can function as a windbreak, screening plant, or ornamental small tree, but its thorniness and invasive tendencies often outweigh those advantages. In dry landscapes it can be visually striking, particularly when contrasted with darker green vegetation. Cultivation (Horticulture): Russian olive is easy to grow and requires little pampering once established. It tolerates poor soils, drought, and wind and has historically been planted as a shelterbelt or ornamental tree. However, because of its invasive behavior in many regions, intentional planting is now often discouraged or prohibited. Where it already exists, management generally focuses more on control than encouragement. Pests & Problems: The biggest “problem” is ecological aggressiveness. Russian olive can establish dense thickets along watercourses and displace native vegetation. Thorns also make maintenance difficult. Fruit quality can be disappointing on dry sites, and trees can become scruffy if unmanaged. Despite these issues, it is generally a tough and resilient species with few limitations once established in suitable conditions. Identification & Habit: Russian olive is a thorny shrub or small tree with alternate, narrow, lance-shaped leaves covered in silvery scales or hairs. The flowers are yellowish, small, and fragrant, produced in leaf axils. Fruits are ellipsoid, olive-like, and silvery to yellowish or reddish-brown at maturity. The overall impression is of a silver-gray, narrow-leaved, thorny tree with dusty-looking fruits and a strong riparian or disturbed-ground presence. Pollinators: The fragrant flowers are attractive to bees and other nectar-seeking insects. Although the flowers are not showy from a human decorative standpoint, they are strongly scented and can be important to pollinators during bloom.

Propagation

Seed is best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame, where it should germinate in late winter or early spring, though it may take 18 months. Stored seed can be very slow to germinate, often exceeding 18 months. A warm stratification of 4 weeks followed by 12 weeks of cold stratification can help. Prick seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle, and plant out when at least 15cm tall. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 7–10cm with a heel, can be taken in July or August in a frame, though rooting is difficult. Cuttings of mature wood from the current year's growth, 10–12cm with a heel, can be taken in October or November in a frame; these are slow and difficult to root and should be left for 12 months. Layering in September or October takes 12 months. Root cuttings can be taken in winter.

Other Uses

Plants can be grown as a hedge or windbreak in exposed positions, including areas with maritime exposure. They are fairly fast-growing and very tolerant of pruning, though somewhat open in habit and not forming a dense screen. Because the plant fixes atmospheric nitrogen, it enriches rather than depletes the soil when used as a hedge. An essential oil from the flowers is used in perfumery. A gum from the plant is used in the textile industry for calico printing. The wood is hard and fine-grained, used for posts, beams, and domestic items, and is also valued for carving. The wood makes an excellent fuel.

Other Information

The fruit are a commercial crop. They are sold in markets. It is an important food in arid regions of north China. The ripe fruit are eaten by children. It is cultivated.

Notes

There are 45 Elaeagnus species. Most are in temperate east Asia. It can be invasive. It is high in Vitamin C.

Nutrition

Synonyms

Also Known As

Chhiolik, Giwai, Igde, Jida, Olajbogyo, Olajfa, Oleaster, Ozkolistna oljčica, Phshateni, Sand jujube, Sarseng, Sersing, Shazao, Shersing, Shiulik, Sinc, Surch, Trebizond date, Zinzeyd

References (63)

• Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 190
• Arora, R. K., 2014, Diversity in Underutilized Plant Species - An Asia-Pacific Perspective. Bioversity International. p 70
• Ballabh, B., et al, 2007, Raw edible plants of cold desert Ladakh. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge. 6(1) pp 182-184
• Blamey, M and Grey-Wilson, C., 2005, Wild flowers of the Mediterranean. A & C Black London. p 131
• Bodkin, F., 1991, Encyclopedia Botanica. Cornstalk publishing, p 376

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