Pronunciation: el-ee-AG-nus um-bel-LAY-tah
Silvery leaf undersides, small cream-colored flowers and red fruit flecked with pale scales identify this invasive shrub of sunny edges and old fields.
Cream-colored flowers and silvery new leaves on a spring branch.
Family Elaeagnaceae · oleaster family
Genus Elaeagnus
Growth Deciduous woody shrub
Height Up to 20 feet
Bloom Spring to early summer
Habitat Old fields, roadsides and woodland edges
Status Non-native and invasive
Observation maps show reported sightings, including planted or escaped populations. They do not define the native range.
Leaves: simple and alternate, with smooth, often wavy margins. Mature upper surfaces are green; the undersides have a conspicuous silvery coating of tiny scales.
Flowers: small, fragrant cream to pale-yellow tubes open into four spreading lobes. Look for clusters at the leaf axils.
Twigs: young growth is covered in silvery or brownish scales. Some branches bear sharp thorns, but their absence does not rule it out.
Search sunny old fields, roadsides, pastures and woodland margins. Autumn Olive tolerates poor soils and can also grow in partial shade.
Flowers appear in spring to early summer. Return later in the season for the small red fruits, whose pale speckles are especially useful for identification.
Native to Asia and introduced to North America, Autumn Olive has spread widely, including Wisconsin and Illinois. Historical plantings for erosion control and wildlife helped establish it beyond gardens.
Observation maps show reported sightings, not the limits of its native range.
Russian Olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia): longer, narrower leaves that are silvery on both sides, with pale yellowish, olive-like fruit.
Native Silverberry (Elaeagnus commutata): foliage remains silvery above as well as below; fruit is pale rather than red.
Bush honeysuckles: opposite leaves and no silvery scales. Compare Amur Honeysuckle, which also bears red fruit.
Birds eat the fleshy fruit and disperse its seeds. Although that provides food, dense stands compete with native vegetation and can change open habitats.
Bacteria associated with root nodules fix nitrogen. This changes soil nutrient conditions and can favor plants adapted to richer soils.
Look for red, rounded to oval fruits dotted with silvery scales, together with alternate leaves and silver undersides. Red fruit by itself is not enough to identify the shrub.
Explore more species in the guide, then practice recognizing wildflowers in the quiz.
