Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) is a shrub that produces red berries shaped like an elongated olive. The berries are about the diameter of a sweet pea and about twice as long. The berries have a fruity tomato flavor. The leaves have a shape very similar to an olive tree.
The berries are very nutritious. They are very high in lycopene which is found in tomatoes. This is why when tasting the berries they have a tomato flavor. Lycopene is thought to help prevent heart disease and cancers. Cooking increases the lycopene content. The berries are high in vitamins A and E, bioactive compounds, minerals, flavonoids and proteins.
The seeds are also edible and are high in essential fatty acids and protein.
Autumn Olive is considered to be invasive. It grows very well in poor soils and produces thousands of seeds. It was originally brought to North America for planting to reduce erosion and remediate areas such as mine sites. Here is what the Wisconsin DNR has to say about Autumn Olive. https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/invasives/fact/autumnolive.html
I put three autumn olive seedlings in my backyard orchard. I got berries off of all three the second and third years. Two of them died. The third died back and this last summer new shoots came up from the stump. I do not know why the two died. The bark on the trunks did crack open and the shrubs dried up and died.
I purchased my Autumn Olive seedlings from Cold Stream Farm. It appears they no longer sell Autumn Olive seedlings. Here is the web link: https://www.coldstreamfarm.net
Another source for Autumn Olive seedlings is Burnt Ridge Nursery. Here is the web link:
http://www.burntridgenursery.com/Autumn-Olive-Bush/products/39/
Autumn Olive fixes nitrogen from the air into the soil due to a bacterium that lives in their roots. The process is similar to legumes such as clover, alfalfa and beans however the bacteria is different. The nitrogen fixing property is another reason I have autumn olive in my orchard. It is planted to benefit the other plants around it.
Here is a web link listing the many benefits of Autumn Olive.
https://practicalplants.org/wiki/Elaeagnus_umbellata
Below are photos of Autumn Olive from my backyard orchard.
