Illinois Exotic Species:
Autumn olive Eleaganus umbellata

Autumn olive is a shrub that is native to China, Korea and Japan. It has been widely planted for wildlife cover and food. It is known for its simple, alternate, silvery green leaves, yellow flowers and red fruits. The fruits are eaten and dispersed by birds, and individual plants can produce over a hundred thousand fruits per year. A single autumn olive shrub can be thorny, dense and up to 20 feet in height. This plant is particularly invasive in pastures, prairies and open woodlands where it crowds out other vegetation.

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