Elaeagnus angustifolia explained

Elaeagnus angustifolia, commonly called Russian olive,[1] silver berry,[2] oleaster, or wild olive, is a species of Elaeagnus, native to Asia and limited areas of eastern Europe. It is widely established in North America as an introduced species.[3] [4]

Description

Elaeagnus angustifolia is a thorny tree growing to 35feet in height.[5] Its stems, buds, and leaves have a dense covering of silvery to rusty scales. The leaves are alternate, lanceolate, 4– long and 1- broad, with a smooth margin. The plants begin to flower and fruit from 3 years old. The highly aromatic flowers, produced in clusters of one to three, are 1 cm long with a four-lobed creamy yellow calyx; they appear in early summer and are followed by clusters of fruit, a small cherry-like drupe 1- long, orange-red covered in silvery scales. The fruits are about 1 cm wide[6] and sweet, though with a dryish, mealy texture.[7] [8] [9]

The species is established and reproduced primarily by seed, with some vegetative propagation also occurring.[10] The branches have thorns that can be 2- long.

Taxonomy

The first scientific description of Elaeagnus angustifolia was by Carl Linnaeus under its present name in 1753. Its common name comes from its similarity in appearance to the olive (Olea europaea), in a different botanical family, the Oleaceae.

Range

The native range of oleaster trees is from Ukraine and Turkey in the west and then eastwards through southern Russia and Central Asia into China. In the eastern Mediterranean this includes the East Aegean Islands, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Israel. Further east in Asia the native range stretches into Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and the nations of the Caucasus. In India they are found in the western Himalayas. There is a disjunct population in Myanmar and Assam in eastern India. They grow natively in Mongolia and in China they are found in the north-central, southeast, Inner Mongolia, Manchuria, Qinghai, and Xinjiang.

Ecology

The shrub possesses a very high level of nitrogen fixation(Page 6) and salinity tolerance https://plants.usda.gov/home/plantProfile?symbol=ELAN[11] enabling it to grow on bare mineral substrates and poor, eroded soils and environments.

The caterpillars of the high altitude alpine moth Lachana alpherakii use it as a host plant.[12] The fruit is readily eaten and the seeds disseminated by many species of birds.

Invasive behavior

The species was introduced into North America by the late 19th century, and was both planted and spread through the consumption of its fruits (which seldom ripen in England),[13] by birds, which disperse the seeds. Russian olive is considered to be an invasive species in many places in the United States because it thrives on poor soil, has high seedling survival rates, matures in a few years, and out-competes the native vegetation. It often invades riparian habitats where the canopy of cottonwood trees has died. Its quick-spreading root system can make it pest-like.

Uses

It is widely grown across southern and central Europe as a drought and cold-resistant ornamental plant for its scented flowers, edible fruit, attractive yellow foliage and black bark. It was grown in England by John Parkinson no later than 1633.[14]

In Iran, the dried powder of the fruit is used mixed with milk for rheumatoid arthritis and joint pains. There is evidence supporting beneficial effects of aqueous extract of Persian olive in reducing the symptoms of osteoarthritis with an efficacy comparable to that of acetaminophen and ibuprofen.[15]

It is one of the seven items used in Haft-sin, a traditional table setting of Nowruz, the traditional Persian spring celebration. The dried fruit, known locally as senjed, is one of seven served in its own syrup in a fruit salad called haft mēwa eaten during Nowruz in Afghanistan.[16] [17]

Chemistry

E. angustifolia contains the alkaloids harmine, harmane, and harmol in the roots and shoot, as well as calligonine in the bark.[18]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Russian Olive Species Profile . USDA . 2016-01-10 .
  2. Book: Bailey, L. H. . Bailey, E. Z. . the staff of the Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium . 1976 . Hortus third: A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada . Macmillan . New York . 978-0-02-505470-7 . registration .
  3. Web site: Elaeagnus angustifolia . Sullivan . Steven. K. . 2020 . Wildflower Search . 2020-09-22 .
  4. Web site: Elaeagnus angustifolia . 2020 . USDA, NRCS. . The PLANTS Database . National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA. . 2020-09-22.
  5. Web site: USDA Plants Database .
  6. Book: Arno . Stephen F. . Northwest Trees: Identifying & Understanding the Region's Native Trees . Hammerly . Ramona P. . . 2020 . 978-1-68051-329-5 . field guide . Seattle . 287–288 . en . 1141235469 . 1977.
  7. Web site: Elaeagnus angustifolia . Klinkenberg . Brian . 2020 . E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. . Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver . 2020-09-22 .
  8. Web site: Elaeagnus angustifolia . Giblin . David . 2020 . WTU Herbarium Image Collection . Burke Museum, University of Washington . 2020-09-22.
  9. Web site: Elaeagnus angustifolia . 2020 . in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora . Jepson Herbarium; University of California, Berkeley . 2020-09-22.
  10. Book: Little, Elbert L. . The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Western Region . Knopf . 1994 . 0-394-50761-4 . Chanticleer Press . 566 . 1980.
  11. Web site: Forest Service Fire Ecology . 2008-01-15 . 2008-04-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080405152020/http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/elaang/all.html . live .
  12. Trofimova . Tatyana A. . January 2008 . Systematic notes on Dasorgyia Staudinger, 1881, Dicallomera Butler, 1881, and Lachana Moore, 1888 (Lymantriidae) . Nota Lepidopterologica . 31 . 2 . 273–291 . 0342-7536 . 26 November 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120423063917/http://www.soceurlep.eu/tl_files/nota/bd31_2/09_Trofimova.pdf . 23 April 2012 . dead .
  13. Parkinson noted that it rarely perfected its fruit (noted by Coats 1992).
  14. Book: Coats . Alice M. . Creech . John L. . Garden Shrubs and Their Histories . 1992 . Simon and Schuster . New York . 978-0-671-74733-6 . 75 . 1st US . 2 May 2024 . en.
  15. 4908661. 2016. Panahi. Y.. Efficacy of Elaeagnus Angustifolia extract in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis: A randomized controlled trial. Excli Journal. 15. 203–210. Alishiri. G. H.. Bayat. N.. Hosseini. S. M.. Sahebkar. A.. 27330526.
  16. News: Sethi . Simran . 2022-03-21 . Nowruz is banned in Afghanistan, but families continue to celebrate . en . NPR . 2022-04-29.
  17. News: Deravian . Naz . 2022-03-14 . For Afghans Abroad, Nowruz Is a Chance to Reflect . en-US . The New York Times . 2022-04-29 . 0362-4331.
  18. Web site: Elaeagnus angustifolia Plant Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases . 2024-01-21 . phytochem.nal.usda.gov.