USDA
Code:
ELAN
Legal
Status:
Colorado
List B Noxious Weed
Family:
Elaeagnaceae (Oleaster)
Lifecycle:
Perennial
Growth
form: Tree,
shrub
Flower:
Small, light yellow clusters, bisexual.
Seeds/Fruit:
Olive-shaped fruits, silver when first formed becoming
yellow-red when mature.
Produced in 3 to 5 years, in great quantities.
Leaves:
Simple, alternate, narrow 2 to 3 inches long, and are
untoothed. The
upper surface of the leaf is light green, the lower surface
is silvery white with dense scales.
Stems:
Can reach 30 feet in height, trunks and branches have 1 to 2
inch thorns.
Seedling:
Can
reproduce by seed or root suckers.
Tolerant of shade.
SIMILAR
SPECIES:
Natives:
autumn olive.
IMPACTS
Ecological:
Invades
both upland and riparian communities.
Creates monotypic stands which replaces native
vegetation, altering structure nutrient cycling, and system
hydrology.
HABITAT
AND DISTRIBUTION
General
requirements: Can
grow in a variety of soil and moisture conditions, but
prefers open, moist riparian zones.
Distribution:
Primarly found in central and western
U.S.
, but is also found in eastern
U.S.
Historical:
Introduced
from
Europe
.
REFERENCES
Whitson,
T.D.(ed.), L.C. Burrill, S.A. Dewey, D.W. Cudney, B.E.
Nelson, R.D. Lee, R. Parker.
5th Edition 1999. Weeds
of the West. Western
Society of Weed Science, in cooperation with the Western
United States Land Grant Universities Cooperative Extension
Services,
Newark
CA
Hickman,
J.C. (ed.) 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of
California
. University of
California
Press, Berkeley.
Virginia
Native Plant Society. 2000. Invasive alien plant species of
Virginia
: autumn olive (Elaeagnus
umbellata Thunberg) and Russian olive (Elaeagnus
angustifolia L.). (http://www.vnps.org/invasive/inveleag.htm)
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