Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata)

Synonyms: Elaeagnus crispa, Elaeagnus parvifolia

Common Names: Autumnberry, autumn elaeagnus, Japanese silverberry, spreading oleaster

Description:

Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) is a fast-growing shrub from eastern Asia, brought to North America in the 1800s and once planted widely for erosion control, windbreaks, and wildlife food [1][3]. It spreads aggressively: birds eat its abundant red berries and scatter the seeds far and wide, and it can resprout from its roots, forming dense thickets that crowd out native plants [1][3]. MISIN tracks it because it invades old fields, roadsides, and woodland edges, and even enriches the soil with nitrogen in ways that favor more weeds over native species [3].

Habit:

Autumn olive is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub that grows fast and can reach up to 20 feet tall and nearly as wide [1]. Its best field mark is the silver sheen: the undersides of the leaves are covered in tiny silvery scales, so the whole shrub seems to shimmer when the wind turns the leaves [1]. The leaves are oval, 2 to 4 inches long, with a slightly wavy edge, dull green above and bright silvery beneath [1]. Young twigs are also silvery and speckled with brown scales, and the branches often carry short, sharp thorns [1].

The plant is easiest to spot at two times of year: in spring (about April to June), when it is covered with small, fragrant, cream-to-pale-yellow flowers, and in late summer and fall, when it carries heavy crops of small, speckled red berries [1]. The silvery leaf undersides make it stand out at any time during the growing season [1].

At-a-glance cues:

1. Leaf undersides covered in tiny silvery scales, giving the shrub a silver shimmer [1]
2. Oval leaves 2?4 inches long with a slightly wavy edge, green above and silver below [1]
3. Silvery, brown-speckled young twigs, often with short sharp thorns [1]
4. Abundant small, speckled red berries in late summer and fall [1]

Leaves:

1. Arrangement: alternate along the twig [1]
2. Shape: oval to elliptic, tapering to the tip [1]
3. Margin: smooth but slightly wavy [1]
4. Size: about 2 to 4 inches long [1]
5. Surface: dull green above; underside densely covered with tiny silvery scales (sometimes with a few brown scales) [1]

Stems:

1. Habit: fast-growing, often multi-stemmed deciduous shrub up to about 20 feet tall and nearly as wide [1]
2. Twigs: silvery and speckled with brown scales when young, giving a flecked appearance [1]
3. Thorns: branches often carry short, sharp thorns [1]
4. Roots: nitrogen-fixing root nodules let it grow in poor soils, and it can resprout from the roots [3]

Flowers:

1. Color: cream to pale yellow [1]
2. Scent: strongly fragrant [1]
3. Shape: small and tubular, flaring into a bell at the mouth [1]
4. Arrangement: in small clusters of roughly 1 to 8 flowers along the twigs [1]
5. Bloom time: spring, about April into June [1]

Fruit and seeds:

1. Fruit: small, round, juicy berries, silvery and scaly when young [1]
2. Color: ripening to speckled red (occasionally orange or yellow) in late summer and fall [1]
3. Output: enormous ? a single plant can carry a heavy fruit crop holding up to about 200,000 seeds in a year [3]
4. Dispersal: birds and other animals eat the berries and spread the seeds widely; the plant can also resprout from its roots [1][3]

Habitat:

Autumn olive grows in open, sunny, disturbed places and tolerates poor, dry soils that defeat many other plants [1][3]. Look for it in old fields, pastures, grasslands, roadsides, fence lines, and along woodland edges and clearings [3]. Because its roots add their own nitrogen, it can colonize bare and infertile ground where few shrubs would otherwise take hold [3]. It does best in full sun and is less of a problem deep inside shady forests [3].

The plant is native to eastern Asia, including China, Japan, and Korea [1]. In North America it is an introduced shrub, once planted on purpose and now spreading on its own across much of the eastern and central United States [3].

Reproduction:

Autumn olive spreads mostly by seed, and birds do most of the work. Birds and other animals eat its abundant red berries and drop the seeds far from the parent plant, which is why new shrubs pop up along fence lines, field edges, and under perches [1][3]. A single plant can produce a huge crop of fruit ? holding up to about 200,000 seeds in one year ? and it can start fruiting in as few as three years [1][3]. It can also resprout from its roots, so a cut or damaged plant often comes back [3].

For control, the key is to stop seed production and to kill the roots. Remove plants ? especially young, fruiting ones ? before the berries ripen in late summer, and be ready to follow up, because both the seed bank and the resprouting roots keep the shrub coming back over several years [1][3].

Impact and Damage:

For homeowners, autumn olive is mostly a fast-spreading shrub problem rather than a health risk. Its berries are not poisonous ? they are even edible to people ? though shrubs growing on contaminated ground can take up heavy metals from the soil, so foraged berries are not always safe to eat [1]. The bigger issue is how quickly it takes over: birds plant it along fence lines and field edges, and its thorny thickets are a chore to clear [1].

In natural areas, autumn olive crowds out native plants. It grows fast, resprouts from its roots, and seeds in heavily, forming dense shrub thickets that shade out native grasses, wildflowers, and tree seedlings, especially in open fields, grasslands, and woodland edges [1][3]. Because it is a nitrogen-fixer, it also raises the nitrogen level of the soil, which can shift the balance toward weeds and away from native plants adapted to lean soils, changing the plant community even beyond its own thicket [3]. These traits make it one of the harder shrubs to keep out of open and restored habitats [3].

Similar species:

Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) is the closest look-alike ? another invasive shrub or small tree in the same family with silvery, scaly foliage. You can tell them apart by the leaves and fruit: Russian olive has narrow, willow-like leaves that are silvery on both sides and dry, yellowish, olive-shaped fruit, while autumn olive has wider oval leaves that are green on top and silver below, with speckled red berries.

Thorny olive (Elaeagnus pungens), also called silverthorn, is a related shrub with silvery-scaly leaves, but it is evergreen with thicker, leathery leaves and blooms in fall rather than spring.

Silverberry (Elaeagnus commutata) is a native North American shrub that also has silvery leaves, but it is smaller and spreads by underground runners, has no thorns, and bears dry, silvery, mealy fruit rather than the juicy red berries of autumn olive.

Monitoring and rapid response:

Signs to watch for:

1. Shrubs with leaves that are green above and bright silver below, shimmering in the wind through the growing season [1]
2. Fragrant cream-to-yellow flowers in spring (April?June), then heavy crops of speckled red berries in late summer and fall [1]
3. Fast-growing, often thorny thickets along fence lines, field edges, and roadsides [1][3]

What you can do:

1. Pull or dig up seedlings and small plants, getting as much of the root as you can, ideally when the soil is moist [1].
2. Remove fruiting shrubs before the berries ripen in late summer so birds cannot spread the seeds further [1].
3. For larger shrubs, cutting alone usually fails because the stump resprouts vigorously ? plan to cut and then re-treat the regrowth, and pull new seedlings, over several years [1][3].
4. Bag and dispose of berries and pulled plants rather than moving them in yard waste, which can spread seed [1].
5. Natural area crews should clear small outlying plants and seed sources first to slow the spread, then work through dense thickets, repeating removal and monitoring across the site over multiple seasons [3].

When to call a professional:

1. Large, well-established thickets, or shrubs that keep resprouting after cutting, where hand removal cannot keep up [1][3].
2. For chemical control options, contact a licensed applicator or your local cooperative extension office.

Report sightings to MISIN. Help track this species' spread by submitting observations through the MISIN web site or the MISIN mobile app (Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS). Photos at multiple angles paired with a precise GPS location are the most valuable data for confirming new occurrences and triggering rapid-response review.

Credits:

1. Penn State Extension. Autumn Olive. extension.psu.edu
2. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellata). dnr.state.mn.us
3. USDA National Invasive Species Information Center. Autumn Olive. invasivespeciesinfo.gov

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