Identification:
- Lifecycle: Perennial
- Growth Form: Woody Plant; a small, usually thorny shrub or small tree that can grow to 25 feet (9 m) in height.
- Flowers: Highly aromatic, the initial creamy yellow flowers.
- Seeds/Fruit: clusters of abundant silvery fruits.
- Leaves: Leaves are egg or lance-shaped, smooth margined, and alternate along the stem. Leaves and buds have a dense covering of silvery to rusty scales.
- Stems: The twigs are flexible, coated with a gray, scaly pubescence and often have a short thorn at the end. The bark is thin with shallow fissures and exfoliates into long strips. Shrubby tree to 25 feet.
- Roots: deep taproot and well-developed lateral root system (ISSG 2006).
- Propagation: Seeds and suckers from lateral root system.
Control:
Mech: Cutting trees and removing the stumps. Stumps can re-sprout if left in the ground. If stumps cannot be removed, they should be treated to prevent re-sprouting. Care should also be taken to remove seeds from the area and disposed of properly. Mowing Russian Olive with a brush type mower and removing cut material is probably the most effective way to attempt to eradicate new sprouts.
Cautions:
This plant has pokey little spikes and can make it difficult to get through thick stands.