Plant · P-044

Russian Olive

Elaeagnus angustifolia

Russian Olive is a nitrogen-fixing tree that thrives on saline and alkaline ground where most shrubs give up, producing dry, mealy fruit sweet enough for soups, jellies and sherbets, plus an edible gum and excellent firewood. More than fifty species of birds and mammals eat the fruit and spread the seed into low-lying pasture, floodplains and irrigation ditches, so it needs siting well away from creeks and any sub-irrigated ground, with the margin grazed or mowed to keep seedlings down. Check the local noxious-weed listing before planting one, since some states prohibit it outright.