Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Rosales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Elaeagnus umbellata
FAMILY
Elaeagnaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Read more about Elaeagnus at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
INCLUDING
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Elaeagnus umbellata var. parvifolia
FAMILY
Elaeagnaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 10 (2021)
Elaeagnus umbellata
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Elaeagnus umbellata
INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Elaeagnus umbellata var. parvifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 134-01-002:
Elaeagnus umbellata FAMILY Elaeagnaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT) Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Elaeagnus umbellatus
COMMON NAME:
Autumn-olive, Spring Silverberry, Oriental Silverleaf
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm120330_183
March Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
A noxious weed shrub, sadly still sometimes promoted for "wildlife plantings", per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm120330_183b
March Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
Calyx tube is slender and longer than the lobes, per Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989).
)
JK Marlow jkm120330_184
March Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
Leaf blade adaxially sparsely scaly when young, per Flora of China.
)
JK Marlow jkm080426_009
April Greenville County SC
The peltate scales of leaf lower surface uniformly silver, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
COMPARE
leaves of Elaeagnus species
)
JK Marlow jkm160402_007
April Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm160402_008
April Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm160403_235
April Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm160403_237
April Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm190406_7078
April Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm190408_7151
April Greenville County SC
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmeumbellata_leefalls
April-May? Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm140525_215
May Henderson County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm140718_981
July Spartanburg County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm140718_983
July Spartanburg County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm210819_2952
August Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm081019_009
October Oconee County SC
Bad Creek
Fruiting in the fall, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm081019_009b
October Oconee County SC
Bad Creek
Fruits are borne in great numbers on 1/4" stalks & appear to encircle stem, per Manual of Woody Landscape Plants (Dirr, 1975+).
)
JK Marlow jkm081019_009c
October Oconee County SC
Bad Creek
Round red juicy drupe, finely dotted with silver/silvery-brown scales, per Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests (Miller, 2003).
COMPARE
fruit of Elaeagnus species
)
JK Marlow jkm081019_010
October Oconee County SC
Bad Creek
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Elaeagnus umbellata
FAMILY
Elaeagnaceae
INCLUDING
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Elaeagnus umbellata var. parvifolia
FAMILY
Elaeagnaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 10
Elaeagnus umbellata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Elaeagnus umbellata
INCLUDING
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Elaeagnus umbellata var. parvifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 134-01-002:
Elaeagnus umbellata
FAMILY
Elaeagnaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT)
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Elaeagnus umbellatus
506
Shrub
Perennial
Habitat: forests and woodlands, old pastures, fields, waste areas, spread by birds, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: China & Japan
Common (rare in Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- Alabama Invasive Plant Council, 2012
- Brooklyn Botanic Garden
- Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2006
- Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2013
- NC Botanical Garden
- NC Department of Transportation
- SC Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2014
- SC Native Plant Society
- Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2009
- US Fish & Wildlife Service
- US Forest Service Southern Research Station
- Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, 2014
IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
May be armed with spinose spur shoots
LEAVES:
Deciduous/Semi-persistant
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring
Silvery-white/Yellow
Radially symmetrical
4-merous
4-lobed salverform calyx
Petals absent
4 inserted stamens
Superior ovary (hypanthium fleshy & persistent, thus ovary appearing inferior)
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Reddish-brown/Pinkish
Drupe-like
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p336
- Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007) p136
- A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010) p030
- Invasive Exotic Plants of North Carolina (Smith, 2008) p066
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p099
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p34
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p282
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p134
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