Taxon: Elaeagnus umbellata Thunb.

Summary

Genus:

Elaeagnus

Family:

Elaeagnaceae

Nomen number:

14934

Place of publication:

J. A. Murray, Syst. veg. ed. 14:164. 1784 May-Jun (Fl. jap. 66, t. 14. 1784 Aug)

Comment:

for authorship of Thunberg names first published by Murray see comments in Taxon 45:672. 1996 & 46:311-314. 1997

Verified:

12/31/2007 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

42 (6 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Autonym(s)
Elaeagnus umbellata Thunb. var. umbellata

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Elaeagnus crispa Thunb.
Elaeagnus parvifolia Wall. ex Royle
Elaeagnus umbellata Thunb. var. parvifolia (Wall. ex Royle) C. K. Schneid.

Images (1 total. Click on image for more.)

Links

Forestry Images – Images of invasive weeds from www.forestryimages.org

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Beetle, A. A. 1970. Recommended plant names. Univ. Wyoming Agr. Exp. Sta. Res. J. 31
Botanical Society of the British Isles. BSBI taxon database (on-line resource).
Campbell, F. T., ed. 1995. Report of National Coalition of Exotic Plant Pest Councils (unpublished draft)
Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
Conant, P. et al. 1997. Appendix. Selected plant species interfering with resource management goals in North American natural areas. In: Luken, J. O. & J. W. Thieret, eds., Assessment and management of plant invasions. 255-267.
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India. 1952. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials and industrial products. Raw materials. 3:35.
Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 178.
Editorial Committee of the Flora of Taiwan. 1993-. Flora of Taiwan, ed. 2.
Englert, J. M. et al. 1999-. USDA-NRCS Improved conservation plant materials released by NRCS and cooperators
Erhardt, W. et al. 2002. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 17. Auflage
Franzel, S. et al. 1996. Farmers and trees: linking research and extension. Agroforest. Today 8(3):21.
Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
Meyer, F. G. et al. 1994. A catalog of cultivated woody plants of the southeastern United States
Ohwi, J. 1965. Flora of Japan (Engl. ed.).
Oliphant, A. J. et al. 2017. Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) presence and proliferation on former surface coal mines in Eastern USA. Biol. Invas. 19:179-195. DOI: 10.1007/s10530-016-1271-6.
USDA National Agricultural Library. National Invasive Species Information Center (on-line resource).
Walker, E. 1976. Flora of Okinawa and the southern Ryukyu Islands. Note: var. rotundifolia
Walters, S. M. et al., eds. 1986-2000. European garden flora.
Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
2018. Mid-Atlantic invasive plant species (on-line resource)

Common names

Language	Name	Alternate name	note	seq	Citation
English	autumn elaeagnus			1	Beetle, A. A. 1970. Recommended plant names. Univ. Wyoming Agr. Exp. Sta. Res. J. 31
English	autumn-olive			1	Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
English	spreading oleaster			1	Botanical Society of the British Isles. BSBI taxon database (on-line resource).
Chinese	niu nai zi	牛奶子		2	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
English (Canada)	autumn-olive		Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada official name	2	Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 178.
French (Canada)	chalef en ombelles		Agriculture & Agroalimentaire Canada nom officiel	2	Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 178.
German	doldige Ölweide			2	Erhardt, W. et al. 2002. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 17. Auflage
Japanese Rōmaji	aki-gumi			2	Ohwi, J. 1965. Flora of Japan (Engl. ed.).
Swedish	koreansk silverbuske			2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Gansu Sheng		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Hubei Sheng		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Jiangsu Sheng		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Liaoning Sheng		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Shaanxi Sheng		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Shandong Sheng		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Shanxi Sheng		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Sichuan Sheng		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Xizang Zizhiqu		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Yunnan Sheng		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Zhejiang Sheng		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Japan	Hokkaidô	w.	Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Japan	Honshu		Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Japan	Kyushu		Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Japan	Shikoku		Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Korea			Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Taiwan			Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Afghanistan			Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Bhutan			Momiyama, Y. & H. Hara. 1973. The genus Elaeagnus of eastern Himalaya. J. Jap. Bot. 48:266.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Himachal Pradesh		Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India. 1952. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials and industrial products. Raw materials. 3:35.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Jammu and Kashmir		Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India. 1952. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials and industrial products. Raw materials. 3:35.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Manipur		Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India. 1952. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials and industrial products. Raw materials. 3:35.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Uttar Pradesh		Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India. 1952. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials and industrial products. Raw materials. 3:35.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Nepal			Hara, H. et al. 1978-1982. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Pakistan			Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan. Note: = Elaeagnus angustifolia var. orientalis (L.) Kuntze
2	Cultivated					also cult.
4	Naturalized	Northern America		Canada			Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
4	Naturalized	Northern America		United States			Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
4	Naturalized	Pacific	North-Central Pacific	United States	Hawaii		Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds

Native
Asia-Temperate

WESTERN ASIA: Afghanistan
CHINA: China [Gansu Sheng, Hubei Sheng, Jiangsu Sheng, Liaoning Sheng, Shaanxi Sheng, Shandong Sheng, Shanxi Sheng, Sichuan Sheng, Xizang Zizhiqu, Yunnan Sheng, Zhejiang Sheng]
EASTERN ASIA: Korea, Japan [Hokkaidô (w.), Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku], Taiwan

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: Bhutan, India [Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh], Nepal, Pakistan

Cultivated (also cult.)
Naturalized
Northern America

REGION: Canada, United States

Pacific

NORTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: United States [Hawaii]

Reference(s)

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India. 1952. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials and industrial products. Raw materials. 3:35.
Hara, H. et al. 1978-1982. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal.
Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
Momiyama, Y. & H. Hara. 1973. The genus Elaeagnus of eastern Himalaya. J. Jap. Bot. 48:266.
Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan. Note: = Elaeagnus angustifolia var. orientalis (L.) Kuntze
Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Environmental	erosion control	potential	Franzel, S. et al. 1996. Farmers and trees: linking research and extension. Agroforest. Today 8(3):21.
Environmental	ornamental		Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
Weed			Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Weed			Campbell, F. T., ed. 1995. Report of National Coalition of Exotic Plant Pest Councils (unpublished draft)
Weed		highly competitive, interfering with vegetation restoration	Oliphant, A. J. et al. 2017. Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) presence and proliferation on former surface coal mines in Eastern USA. Biol. Invas. 19:179-195. DOI: 10.1007/s10530-016-1271-6.

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=14934. Accessed 15 April 2026.