Russian Olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia L.)
Also known as Russian silverberry, Russian silver berry, oleaster, wild olive.
↑Range - Expand
| Legend | Color |
| Introduced | |
| Introduced or Not Present |
This map is based on our research. We have checked its accuracy to Level 3 ecoregions. Although this plant occurs somewhere in each of these regions, it may only occur in a small part of some or all of them.
This species may be established farther north in interior British Columbia than herbaria records suggest, notably around Prince George and Williams Lake; there are records in those regions on iNaturalist but it is not clear if they are sustaining wild populations.
↑Notes
We recommend against the use of the common name "wild olive" because it can refer to a number of different plants, including the native water tupelo (Nyssa aquatica), white alling (Bontia daphnoides), and devilwood (Cartrema americana), along with a number of other plants that do not occur in the wild in North America. It can also refer to wild plants of olive (Olea europaea), the species used for cultivated olives. The common names "silverberry" and "oleaster" refer broadly to the Elaeagnus genus which includes numerous other species.
In the case of this species, the descriptor "Russian" is somewhat accurate, as this species is indeed native to Russia, but it is not necessarily most common or widespread there, only being native to a relatively small region from central to eastern European Russia, whereas it has a much broader range farther south in Asia west into southeastern Europe.
↑Links & External Resources
• Russian Olive | The Wood Database (About This Site)
• Russian-Olive | Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) (About This Site)
• Elaeagnus angustifolia (Russian olive) | USDA PLANTS Database (About This Site)
• Elaeagnus angustifolia | Go Botany (About This Site)
• Russian Olive | iNaturalist (About This Site)
• Elaeagnus angustifolia (Russian Olive) | Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder (About This Site)
• Russian-Olive | Virginia Tech Dendrology Factsheets (About This Site)
• Elaeagnus angustifolia (Russian olive) | CABI Invasive Species Compendium (About This Site)
• Elaeagnus angustifolia | Biota of North America Project (BONAP) (About This Site)
• Elaeagnus angustifolia | NatureServe Explorer (About This Site)
• Elaeagnus angustifolia | Flora of North America (About This Site)
• Russian Olive | Maryland Biodiversity Project (About This Site)
• Elaeagnus angustifolia L. | Plants of the World Online (POWO) (About This Site)
• Elaeagnus angustifolia L. (Russian Olive, Oleaster) | Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora (About This Site)
