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Due to its early leafing, and late retention of those leaves, it shades out other native species. Native to Asia, Elaeagnus umbellata was introduced to the US in the 1830's. The seeds are yellow to tan and they have prominent lines running their length. Each fruit produces one seed that is soft shelled and constricted to a point at each end. The fruits hang green all summer, and begin to plump up and turn a bright orange red in early autumn, but remain coated in silvery flakes. Olive shaped, and typically a little smaller than a pea. Each flower is about 1/3 inch long, and has 4 petals joined at the base to form a tube. The roots contain nitrogen fixing nodules which can cause environmental damage.Ĭopious amounts of pale yellow flowers which hang in crowded clusters from the leaf axils. The twigs are covered with tiny silvery flakes or scales. The bark on young trunks and branches is smooth and graying green. The leaf margins are often wavy, or curled, giving the bush a slightly silvery appearance from a distance. They are borne alternately on the branches. They are a dark, dull green on top, and distinctively silvery underneath. As the plant ages, it loses some of it's thorns.Įlliptical to ovate in shape the leaves are tough and leathery. Look for several gnarled spreading trunks emanating from a single point. Somewhere between a hefty shrub and a small, tough, sprawling tree. Japanese Silverberry, Umbellata Oleaster, Autumn Elaeagnus, Spreading Oleaster