| SOURCE:
The following information on this species is taken from the Delaware River
Invasive Plant Partnership, Invasive Plant Fact Sheets at
http://www.paflora.org/DRIPP.html. Modifications include additional
pictures (from www.invasives.org and
http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/index.html) and resource information. Check
the website links for future updates. The last update for this fact sheet is
April 2002. |
DESCRIPTION:
Autumn olive and Russian olive are deciduous, somewhat thorny shrubs or small
trees, with smooth gray bark. Their most distinctive characteristic is the
silvery scales that cover the young stems, leaves, flowers, and fruit. The two
species are very similar in appearance; both are invasive, however autumn olive
is more common in Pennsylvania.
Height - These plants are large, twiggy,
multi-stemmed shrubs that may grow to a height of 20 feet. They occasionally
occur in a single-stemmed, more tree-like form.
Leaves - Leaves are alternate, oval to lanceolate, with a smooth margin; they
are 2-4 inches long and ¾-1½ inches wide. The leaves of autumn olive are dull
green above and covered with silvery-white scales beneath. Russian olive leaves
are grayish-green above and silvery-scaly beneath. Like many other non-native,
invasive plants, these shrubs leaf out very early in the spring, before most
native species.
Flowers - The small, fragrant, light-yellow flowers are borne along the twigs
after the leaves have appeared in May.
Fruit - The juicy, round, edible fruits are about ?-½ inch in diameter; those
of Autumn olive are deep red to pink. Russian olive fruits are yellow or
orange. Both are dotted with silvery scales and produced in great quantity
August-October. The fruits are a rich source of lycopene. Birds and other
wildlife eat them and distribute the seeds widely.
Roots - The roots of Russian olive and autumn olive contain nitrogen-fixing
symbionts, which enhance their ability to colonize dry, infertile soils.
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Photos (Russian olive): © John M. Randall/The Nature
Conservancy
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DISTRIBUTION
AND HABITAT:
Autumn olive was introduced to the United States from East Asia in the1830s. It
was extensively planted in Pennsylvania and other states for revegetation of
severely disturbed areas such as strip mines. The Pennsylvania Game Commission
has also planted it for wildlife food and cover. Russian olive, native to
Eurasia, was planted as an ornamental and for wildlife value. Both species have
naturalized extensively in Pennsylvania, and in states from Maine south to
Virginia, and west to Wisconsin. Russian olive is also a problem further west.
EFFECTS OF
INVASION:
Both autumn olive and Russian olive are very troublesome invasive species;
their nitrogen-fixing root nodules allow them to thrive in poor soils. Typical
habitats are disturbed areas, roadsides, pastures, and successional fields in a
wide range of soils. They are drought tolerant and often invade grasslands and
sparse woodlands. Neither species does well in densely forested areas, but
Russian olive can be found in moist soils, and does particularly well in sandy
floodplains. Both species create heavy shade that suppresses shorter plants
requiring direct sunlight.
REPRODUCTION
AND METHODS OF DISPERSAL:
Autumn olive and Russian olive spread by seeds disseminated throughout the
landscape by birds and other wildlife that consume the fruits. These shrubs
grow rapidly, begin to produce fruit as early as 3 years of age, and have the
ability to thrive in poor soil. They also re-sprout vigorously after cutting or
burning.
LANDSCAPE ALTERNATIVES: The following native
plants are suggested as alternatives to autumn olive or Russian olive in
revegetation and wildlife habitat plantings: sweet-fern (Comptonia peregrina),
bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica), shining sumac (Rhus copallina),
fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica), staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina),
black-haw (Viburnum prunifolium), shadbush (Amelanchier arborea,
A. laevis), clammy locust (Robinia viscosa), redbud (Cercis canadensis),
New Jersey tea (Ceanothus americanus).
AUTHORS:
Ann F. Rhoads and Timothy A. Block, Morris Arboretum, The University of
Pennsylvania.
For more information on Russian and Autumn
olive, please contact:
Delaware River Invasive Plant Partnership, Invasive Plant Fact Sheets,
http://www.paflora.org/DRIPP.html.
Illinois Nature Preserves Commission, Vegetation Management Guidelines,
http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/chf/outreach/VMG/VMG.html
Invasive Plant Atlas of New England,
http://invasives.eeb.uconn.edu/ipane/
Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council, Inc., http://www.ma-eppc.org
National Invasive Species Information Center,
http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov
Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Natural Areas and Preserves,
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/dnap/invasive/
Plant Conservation Alliance, Alien Plant Working Group, Weeds Gone Wild,
http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/factmain.htm
Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas,
http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/pubs/midatlantic/
Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council, Invasive Plant Manual,
http://www.se-eppc.org/manual/
The Bugwood Network, MA-EPPC Plant List,
http://www.invasive.org/maweeds.cfm
The Nature Conservancy Invasive Species Initiative,
http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/esadocs.html
USDA Forest Service, Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests,
http://www.invasive.org/eastern/srs/
USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Area,
http://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/invasive_plants/weeds/
USDA - NRCS PLANTS Database, http://plants.usda.gov/
Virginia Natural Heritage Program Fact Sheet-Autumn Olive and Russian Olive,
http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/dnh/invlist.htm
REFERENCES:
Fordham, Ingrid M., Beverly A. Clevidence, Eugene R. Wiley, and Richard H.
Zimmerman. 2001. Fruit of autumn olive: a rich source of lycopene. HortScience
36(6): 1136-1137.
Rhoads, Ann Fowler and Timothy A. Block. 2000. The Plants of Pennsylvania: An
Illustrated Manual. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, PA.
Rhoads, Ann Fowler and William McKinley Klein. 1993. The Vascular Flora of
Pennsylvania: Annotated Checklist and Atlas. American Philosophical Society,
Philadelphia, PA.
Management
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