Autumn Olive

One lesser-known fruit that grows nearly everywhere in the Eastern half of the United States is the “Autumn Olive” (no, it’s not related to olives at all). Also called “Silverberry” the autumn olive is considered highly invasive in most places, and here in my state of Michigan, you can incur severe fines for planting it or being caught with live specimens.

Let’s dive into the plant profile.

Plant Profile:

Scientific Name: Elaeagnus umbellata

Preferred Habitat: Disturbed soil, grasslands, by railroad tracks, on old farmland, and roadsides.

Distribution: The entire Eastern half of the U.S. and a few Western U.S.

Harvest Season: Late Summer-Early Fall

Edible Parts: Berries

Key Identifiers: The most sure way to identify autumn olive is the unique silver-gold speckles on the berries, and the silvery-looking leaves (as seen in the pictures)

Toxic Look-Alikes: There are several plants that could be mistaken for autumn olive at a glance: oriental bittersweet, various honeysuckles, and spicebush among others (the latter is edible, more on that in a future edition), however, none have the speckled berries like autumn olive, so it is very easy to identify even for complete beginners! The only other berry that might be confused with autumn olive is the Russian Olive (also edible) which is a close relative.

Nutrition:*

• Calories 58

• Protein 1.4g

• Carbohydrates 14.4g

• Fiber 3.1g

• Sugars8.4g

• Fat 0.3g

• Vitamin C 30.3mg

• Vitamin K 5.3mcg

• Potassium 233mg

• Magnesium 20mg

• Phosphorus 30mg

• High in lycopene (the compound that makes tomatoes healthy)

• Very high in vitamins A and E

• *Quick note: I couldn’t find any specific information on Elaeagnus umbellata’s real nutrient count, so I used the very closely related cousin the goumi berry (Elaeagnus multiflora). I also don’t know how much of them you’d need to get these nutrients, but I assume it’s the standard per 100g.

So as you can see, the autumn olive is a nutritional powerhouse! 

While not legal to grow, autumn olive grows abundantly in the wild. It’s a very easy source of food for both animals and humans! The flavor is somewhat like a mix between apple juice and maybe a hint of tart cherry. The peel of the berry tends to be a little astringent, so cold-pressing them for juice is recommended.

 I have also heard that freezing them takes away some of the astringency!

There is also a single hard seed inside each autumn olive, which is edible but not very palatable.

Autumn olive was introduced from Asia in the earlier 1900s as an ornamental plant to help with erosion control. Unfortunately like many other invasive species, it backfired and as soon as birds found out they were a good food source, the plant was out of control. It can be so bad in fact that many farmers will abandon plots of land if it gets to be too much to fight all the time.

A few important things to note about autumn olives:

1. They grow most easily in disturbed, nutrient-deficient soils.

2. They are nitrogen-fixing plants (meaning they take nitrogen from the air and cycle it back into the soil). The highest benefits are seen when limbs or leaves are chopped and left on the ground.

3. The American commercial agriculture system relies on heavy tilling of soils (disturbance) and is notorious for destroying nutrient value in the land, especially loss of nitrogen (nutrient deficiency).

I would like to suggest that maybe the issue isn’t as much of a problem with autumn olives, but like in many cases, an issue of how we manage our land.

One last cool fact before we get into cultivation: I have heard of someone making a business with autumn olive and selling it as jams and similar products, here is their website (I have no idea if they are still active): Home - Autumn Berry Inspired

The owner of the business was interviewed back in 2018 on Urban Forestry Radio, the interview can be listened to here.

The USDA has also done studies on using Autumn Olive as a cash crop for farmers. That study is here

In any case, that’s a topic for another edition.

I will say, don’t try and grow it, and don’t spread it intentionally.

There is, however, a way to cultivate the same delicious berry without risking an invasive species taking over or getting fines: The close cousin the goumi berry that I mentioned earlier! The goumi is extremely similar to the autumn olive. It is in the same genus, but a slightly different species. It has larger, sweeter fruit, and lacks the invasive qualities of the autumn olive.

Goumi does have a few cultivated varieties available online:

• Sweet Scarlet - Large tasty fruit

• Red Gem - Prized for high yield and fruit quality

• Tilamook - Very large berries, and good production

• Raintree Select - Intense vigor, and very high production

• Carmine - Heavy-yielding Pacific Northwest variety

These goumi can be purchased here:

One Green World

Raintree Nursery

Burnt Ridge Nursery

Ison’s Orchard and Vinyard

I don’t earn any commission by writing about these companies, I just really appreciate them.

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Thanks for reading!

Pete