Elaeagnus pungens
Thorny olive · also Spiny oleaster, Silverthorn, Silverberry
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Elaeagnus pungens is a multi-stemmed shrub with vine-like branches and a sprawling canopy featuring thorny stems and silvery-gray undersides on its leaves. This tough, fast-growing evergreen tolerates drought, poor soils, salt spray, and pollution, making it suitable for urban planting. However, it can spread by suckering and is nitrogen-fixing, often becoming an invasive weed, particularly in the southeastern United States.
Where it grows
Trees in each city's inventory, with the share of that city's named trees this species accounts for.
- 840.04%—3.1 in
- 10.00%——
- 10.00%—1.5 in
- 10.00%—2.0 in
No city in this list records planting dates for this species, so age is blank throughout.
Traits
- Form
- Multi-trunk
- Foliage
- Evergreen
- Mature height
- 10–15 ft
- Canopy spread
- 10–15 ft
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Water needs
- Moderate
- Drought tolerance
- High
- Pollution tolerance
- High
- Roots
- Invasive
- Wildlife value
- High
- Tolerates
- coastal, salt
- Blooms
- Sep, Oct, Nov
Trunk diameters across every city: median 3.1 in, mean 3.2 in, 90th percentile 3.5 in. Measured at breast height, as published by each inventory.
Native range
Terrestrial ecoregions where this species is native. Trees in the dataset mostly stand well outside it.
Temperate Broadleaf & Mixed Forests
- Central China Loess Plateau mixed forests
- Central Korean deciduous forests
- Southern Korea evergreen forests
Other Elaeagnus in the catalogue
5 of the top 2,000 species are in this genus.
