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Elaeagnaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Elaeagnus angustifolia

Elaeagnus angustifolia

Edibility
4/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Shrub
GrowthMedium

Elaeagnus angustifolia is a very hardy plant, tolerating temperatures down to about -40°c[1]. However, plants prefer a continental climate where cold winters are followed by hot, often dry summers. In mild winter areas plants can come into growth too soon in the spring and the young growth can then be damaged by late frosts, whilst the cool moist summers of maritime regions are often not hot enough to fully ripen the new growth, which is can then susceptible to damage during the winter[2, 3]. An easily grown plant, it succeeds in most soils that are well-drained[4], though it dislikes shallow chalk soils[5]. Especially in drier climates, plants are commonly found growing in areas with low water tables and in moister soils close to sources of water[6]. Prefers a light sandy soil that is only moderately fertile[2], succeeding in poor soils and dry soils[2, 4]. Requires a position in full sun, growing very well in hot dry positions[7]. Plants are very drought and wind resistant[8, 9, 4], they also tolerate conditions of considerable salinity and alkalinity[10]. Generally long-lived, plants start producing fruit and seed when around 3 - 5 years old and continue for another 75 - 100 years[11, 12]. A very variable species[13]. This species is often cultivated in N. Europe for its edible fruits, there are many named varieties and some of these are thornless[13]. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[14, 4]. An excellent companion plant, when grown in orchards it can increase yields from the fruit trees by up to 10%. Plants are very tolerant of pruning, they usually resprout freely even when cut right back to the ground. This species is notably resistant to honey fungus[15, 4]. The flowers are sweetly and heavily scented[1]. Orientalis - Occasionally cultivated for its edible fruit, there are some named varieties[16]. The fruit used to be commonly sold in the markets of Iran and Turkey but is rarely found there nowadays[16].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame[17]. It should germinate in late winter or early spring, though it may take 18 months[PFAF]. Stored seed can be very slow to germinate, often taking more than 18 months. A warm stratification for 4 weeks followed by 12 weeks cold stratification can help[5]. The seed usually (eventually) germinates quite well[17]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pot as soon as they are large enough to handle and plant out when they are at least 15cm tall. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 7 - 10cm with a heel, mid summer in a frame. Difficult[18]. Cuttings of mature wood of the current year's growth, 10 - 12cm with a heel, autumn in a frame[4]. The cuttings are rather slow and difficult to root, leave them for 12 months[18]. Layering in September/early autumn. Takes 12 months[17]. Root cuttings in the winter[4]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Elaeagnus+angustifolia>

Pollinators

Bees

References

  1. [1]Shrubs. — Phillips. R. & Rix. M. · Pan Books · 1989 · ISBN 0-330-30258-2 ↩︎Excellent photographs and a terse description of 1,900 species and cultivars.
  2. [2]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  3. [3]Shrubs for the Milder Counties. — Arnold-Forster. ↩︎Trees and shrubs that grow well in Cornwall and other mild areas of Britain. Fairly good, a standard reference book.
  4. [4]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  5. [5]Seed Manual for Ornamental Trees and Shrubs. — Gordon. A. G. and Rowe. D. C. F. · HMSO; London · 1982 · ISBN 0-11-710152-4 ↩︎Very comprehensive guide to growing trees and shrubs from seed. Not for the casual reader.
  6. [6]Fire Effects Information System — http://www.feis-crs.org/feis/ ↩︎An on-line information site with comprehensive information on over 1,100 species of plant. Mainly developed to supply information on the effects of fire on plants and animals, it also contains a wealth of other information on the plants
  7. [7]Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. — Thomas. G. S. · Murray · 1992 · ISBN 0-7195-5043-2 ↩︎Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.
  8. [8]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  9. [9]The Milder Garden. — Taylor. J. · Dent · 1990 ↩︎A good book on plants that you didn't know could be grown outdoors in Britain.
  10. [10]Trees of North Texas — Vines. R.A. · University of Texas Press. · 1982 · ISBN 0292780206 ↩︎A readable guide to the area, it contains descriptions of the plants and their habitats with quite a bit of information on plant uses.
  11. [11]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
  12. [12]Invasive Species Compendium — http://www.cabi.org ↩︎An immense resource - in depth information on over 900 species of invasive plants (it also has information on animals, fungi etc).
  13. [13]The New Plantsman. Volume 1, 1994. — Matthews. V. · Royal Horticultural Society · 1994 · ISBN 1352-4186 ↩︎A quarterly magazine, it has articles on Himalayacalamus hookerianus, hardy Euphorbias and an excellent article on Hippophae spp.
  14. [14]Wonder Crops. 1987. — Natural Food Institute, ↩︎Fascinating reading, this is an annual publication. Some reports do seem somewhat exaggerated though.
  15. [15]The Garden. Volume 112. — RHS. · Royal Horticultural Society · 1987 · ISBN - ↩︎Snippets of information from the magazine of the RHS. In particular, there are articles on plants that are resistant to honey fungus, oriental vegetables, Cimicifuga spp, Passiflora species and Cucurbits.
  16. [16]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  17. [17]Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. — Sheat. W. G. · MacMillan and Co · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
  18. [18]The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. — Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. · Athens Ga. Varsity Press · 1987 · ISBN 0942375009 ↩︎A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.
  19. [19]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
  20. [20]KemperCentreForHomeGardeningPlantFinder — Missouri Botanical Garden · http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/ ↩︎Basic cultivation details, plant uses, habitat etc for several thousand species of plants, mainly from the temperate zone.
  21. [21]Flora of the USSR. — Komarov. V. L. · Israel Program for Scientific Translation · 1968 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org · ISBN - ↩︎An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  22. [22]Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk — http://www.hear.org/pier/scientificnames/index.html ↩︎A very good website detailing weed species that have been introduced into the Pacific Islands.
  23. [23]Flora of Turkey. — Davis. P. H. · Edinburgh University Press · 1965 · ISBN - ↩︎Not for the casual reader, this is an immense work in many volumes. Some details of plant uses and habitats.
  24. [24]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  25. [25]Growing Unusual Fruit. — Simmons. A. E. · David & Charles; Newton Abbot. · 1972 · ISBN 0-7153-5531-7 ↩︎A very readable book with information on about 100 species that can be grown in Britain (some in greenhouses) and details on how to grow and use them.
  26. [26]Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. — Polunin. O. · Oxford University Press · 1969 · ISBN 0192176218 ↩︎An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.
  27. [27]A Manual of Indian Timbers. — Gamble. J. S. · Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh · 1972 · ISBN - ↩︎First written in the 19th century, but still a classic, giving a lot of information on the uses and habitats of Indian trees. Not for the casual reader.
  28. [28]Forest Flora of Srinagar. — Singh. Dr. G. and Kachroo. Prof. Dr. P. · Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎A good flora of the western Himalayas but poorly illustrated. Some information on plant uses.
  29. [29]Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). — Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. · Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. · 1986 · ISBN - ↩︎Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
  30. [30]Scented Flora of the World. — Genders. R. · Robert Hale. London. · 1994 · ISBN 0-7090-5440-8 ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.
  31. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎