Elaeagnus commutata

Silver Elaeagnus ( Elaeagnus commutata )

The silver Elaeagnus ( Elaeagnus commutata ) is a flowering plant in the family of oil willow family ( Elaeagnaceae ). This native of North America species is exploited in Central Europe as an ornamental shrub, and here's some places wild.

Features

The silver Elaeagnus is a deciduous shrub, reaching the stature heights of 1 to 4 meters. It forms strong rhizomes. The bark of the branches is silvery scaled to reddish brown, the older branches is dark grayish - red, the young branches is brown or green. The change-constant and short -stalked leaves are 2-7 inches long and up to 4.5 inches wide. The lanceolate to oblanceolate leaf blade is on both sides silvery with a wavy margin.

The flowering period extends from March to May At an axillary inflorescence sit one to three short -stalked flowers, which are bent downward. The aromatic fragrant flowers are cruciform. The four petals are fused funnel-shaped. The corolla tube is yellow inside and outside silver and ends with four Kronlappen. There are four stamens present. The achene is egg-shaped, silvery- mealy " berry " wrapped, which is 9 to 12 millimeters long.

Dissemination

The home of the Silver Ölweide extends over large parts of North America. The deposits extend from southern Alaska and the Yukon Territory and British Columbia in Canada to the east to Ontario and Quebec; to the south, the range extends into the U.S. states of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.

System

The on the German botanist Johann Jakob Bernhardi (1774-1850) declining description has been published in 1917 by American botanist Per Axel Rydberg. A synonym is Elaegnus argentea Pursh.

Use

The variety ' Zempin ' with partly different mottled foliage is used as ornamental tree.

Blackfoot use the silver Ölweide as food and medicine. The fruits are eaten as Naschobst or cooked in soups. From the bark of solid / strong ropes and from the fruits of soap are produced. From dried seeds the women and children make necklaces. A decoction of the bark, mixed with fat, is used in frostbite.

The fruits and seeds are eaten raw or cooked, dry and mealy. The fruit must be fully ripe before it tastes raw before it is astringent. Medical effects have been investigated.

Swell

• Data sheet at E - Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia (English )