Elaeagnus umbellata

Taxobox
name = "Elaeagnus umbellata"


image_width = 250px
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Rosales
familia = Elaeagnaceae
genus = "Elaeagnus"
species = "E. umbellata"
binomial = "Elaeagnus umbellata"
binomial_authority = Thunb.

"Elaeagnus umbellata", also referred to as Japanese Silverberry, Umbellate Oleaster or Autumn-olive, is a species of "Elaeagnus" native to eastern Asia from the Himalayas east to Japan. Because airborne nitrogen can be fixed in its roots, it has the capability to grow in infertile habitats.

It is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 4-10 m tall, with a dense, thorny crown. The leaves are alternate, 4-10 cm long and 2-4 cm wide, entire but with a waved margin they are silvery when they leaf out early in spring due to numerous tiny, scales, but turning greener above as the silvery scales wear off through the summer (unlike the related "E. angustifolia", which remains silvery to leaf fall). The flowers are clustered 1-7 together in the leaf axils, fragrant, with a four-lobed pale yellowish-white 1 cm long corolla. The fruit is round to oval drupe 1 cm long, silvery-scaled orange ripening red dotted with silver or brown. When ripe, the fruit is juicy and edible, and works well as a fruit leather. It is small, extremely numerous, tart-tasting, and it has a chewable seed. It has been shown to have from 7 to 17 times the amount of the antioxidant lycopene that tomatoes have. Lycopene has been consistently shown to be useful in decreasing the risk of prostate cancer.

It has naturalized in some parts of North America, and is sometimes considered an invasive species.

Gallery

External links

* [http://www.invasivespecies.gov/profiles/autmnolive.shtml U.S. Invasive species listing]
* [ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/CT/invasives/autumn_olive.pdf USDA species identification sheet (pdf)]
* [http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/species/frame/elum.htm "Elaeagnus umbellata" images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu]