Elaeagnus angustifolia

Russian olive, Russian Olive

Family: Elaeagnaceae · Type: shrub · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Russian olive is a naturalized shrub found in the San Joaquin Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, Sierra Nevada, San Bernardino Mountains, Peninsular Ranges, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert in disturbed and occasionally moist locations at elevations generally below 2,050 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces fragrant pale yellow flowers approximately 5 to 10 millimeters wide. Growing to heights up to 7 meters, it develops an occasionally thorny structure with spreading branches. Its leaves are lanceolate to oblong, 4 to 8 centimeters long, distinctively silvery on the undersurface. The fruit is an elliptic yellow drupe 10 to 20 millimeters long.

Habitat: Uncommon. Disturbed, sometimes moist places

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: generally < 2050 m

Bioregions: ScV, SnFrB, SnGb, SnBr, PR, GB, DMoj

California counties: San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Inyo, Butte, Contra Costa, Riverside, Fresno, Sutter, Modoc, San Joaquin, Lassen, Solano, San Diego, Santa Clara, Stanislaus, Yolo, Siskiyou, Monterey

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.