Elaeagnus angustifolia L., Elaeagnaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  yes

Common name(s): [more details]

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 speacies quickly spreads and forms dense thickets that crowd out native vegetation and prevent the establishment of native trees.  It replacers 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

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
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Daehler, Curtis C./Baker, Raymond F. (2006) (p. 7) Vouchers cited: C. Daehler 1077 (BISH), C. Daehler 1078 (HAW), C. Caehler 1105 (BISH), K. Nagata 279 (HLA)

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. (2007)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (California)	introduced	Munz, P. A./Keck, D. D. (1959) (p. 988)

Control: 

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).

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

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

References:

Daehler, Curtis C./Baker, Raymond F. 2006. New records of naturalized and naturalizing plants around Lyon Arboretum, Mānoa Valley, O‘ahu. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2004-2005. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 87:3-18.

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. 2007. 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.