Plant · P-043

Goumi

Elaeagnus multiflora

Goumi is a nitrogen-fixing shrub whose tart red berries are the best eating in its genus, sweet enough to eat raw once fully ripe and good in pies and preserves too. Its dense, thorny growth doubles as a windbreak or a stock-proof hedge, and it fixes its own nitrogen while boosting the yield of fruit trees planted nearby. The catch is the same one birds create for its relatives: they carry the seed well beyond the planting site, so it needs room where any seedlings that come up get mowed or grazed off.