Elaeagnus angustifolia L., Elaeagnaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  yes

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: xia ye mu ban xia

English: elaeagnus, oleaster, Russian-olive, trebizond-date

French: chalef, olivier de Bohême

Spanish: árbol del paraíso, olivo de Bohemia, panjino

Habit:  tree

Description:  "A small tree up to 6 m tall.  Young shoots with dense silvery scales.  Leaves 2.5-5.5 cm long, 0.6-3 cm broad, elliptic-oblong to oblong-lanceolate, acute or obtuse, undersurface especially silvery ash grey.  Flowers axillary, solitary or 2-3, covered with peltate scales on the outside.  Male flowers 8 mm long, perianth tube campanulate.  Hermaphrodite flowers longer; tepals 4, c 3.5 mm broad, ovate, stellately hairy and yellow within; anthers sessile, c. 3.5 mm long; ovary 2.5 mm long; style glabrous, 6-8 mm long.  Fruit elliptic-oblong, 1.5-2 cm long, reddish-brown, endocarp hard and bony, not ribbed.  Has a superficial resemblance with E. umbellata Thunb., but differs in the nature of the endocarp and the glabrous style" (Nasir, 1975; pp. 3-4).

"Shrub or tree, 3-7 m tall, densely silvery; leaves lanceolate, 3-10 cm long; flowers 12-15 mm long; fruit yellow with silvery scales" (Munz & Keck, 1959; p. 988).

Habitat/ecology:  "Forests, riparian habitats.  The shrub grows commonly in wet places but also tolerates poor soils and drought.  The species quickly spreads and forms dense thickets that crowd out native vegetation and prevent the establishment of native trees.  It replaces native riparian forests in North America and causes loss of wildlife habitat"  (Weber, 2003; p. 149).

In California, "occasional escape in wet places" (Munz & Keck, 1959; p. 988).

Propagation:  Seed, dispersed by birds and small mammals. The species resprouts from its root system (Weber, 2003; p. 149).

Native range:  "S.E. Europe to Czechoslovakia and C. Russia, C. and W. Asia to W. Himalayas" (Nasir, 1975; pp. 3-4). Eurasia, naturalized elsewhere (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (California)	introduced	Munz, P. A./Keck, D. D. (1959) (p. 988)

Control:  Additional control information from the Bugwood Wiki.

Physical:  "Smaller trees may be removed with a weed wrench, larger plants should be cut at ground level".

Chemical:  "If stumps cannot be completely buried, they should be treated with a herbicide.  Effective herbicides are 2,4-D or 2,4,5-T"  (Weber, 2003; p. 149).

Additional information:
Information from "Invasive plants of Asian origin established in the United States and their natural enemies, volume 1" (PDF format).
Information from the Global Invasive Species Database.
Information from the publication "Nonnative invasive plants of Southern forests: A field guide for identification and control".
Species profile from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Invasive Species Information Center.
Information from the Bugwood Wiki.

Additional online information about Elaeagnus angustifolia is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Elaeagnus angustifolia as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Elaeagnus angustifolia may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Miller, James H. 2003. Nonnative invasive plants of Southern forests: A field guide for identification and control. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-62. 93 p.

Munz, P. A./Keck, D. D. 1959. A California flora. U. Cal. Press.

Nasir, Yasin. 1975. Elaeagnaceae. In: E. Nasir and S.I. Ali, eds. Flora of West Pakistan, no. 85.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Weber, Ewald. 2003. Invasive plants of the World. CABI Publishing, CAB International, Wallingford, UK. 548 pp.

Zheng, Hao/Wu, Yun/Ding, Jianqing/Binion, Denise/Fu, Weidong/Reardon, Richard. 2004. Invasive plants of Asian origin established in the United States and their natural enemies, volume 1. FHTET-2004-05. U.S. Forest Service, Morgantown.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).