Elaeagnus difficilis Serv.

Species

Angiosperms > Rosales > Elaeagnaceae > Elaeagnus

Characteristics

Shrubs, evergreen, spreading or scandent, 2-3 m tall. Lateral branches ± spine-tipped; young branches with overlapping brown, pale brown, or reddish brown and off-white scales. Petiole 8-15 mm, indumentum as for stem; leaf blade abaxially brownish green, adaxially olive-green when dried, lanceolate, 7-13.5 × 2.2-6 cm, papery to leathery, abaxially with scales overlapping, silvery or ferruginous, adaxially glabrous except for brown scales on midrib, lateral veins 5-9 per side of midrib, inconspicuous on both surfaces or raised and with darker scales abaxially, base rounded or cuneate, margin narrowly revolute, apex slightly acuminate. Flowers 1-5 in axils of new lateral shoots, sometimes on very contracted short shoots. Pedicel 1-12 mm, pale brown scaly. Flowers nodding. Calyx densely reddish brown scaly; tube tubular or tubular-campanulate to slightly funnelform, 4.5-5 × 2.7-4 mm, constricted above ovary, abruptly widening below lobes; lobes triangular-ovate, 2.5-3 × ca. 2.5 mm, inside stellate-pilose, apex acute or apiculate. Anthers oblong-ellipsoid, 1.2-1.7 mm. Style flexuous, glabrous. Drupe salmon-or orange-red, cylindric, 1.4-1.7 cm × 6-9 mm, 8-ribbed. Fl. Apr, fr. May-Jun.
More
An evergreen shrub. It grows 2-3 m tall. It can be spreading. The side branches have spines at the tips. The leaves are sword shaped and 7-14 cm long by 2-6 cm wide. The flowers are in groups of 1-5 in the axils of new side shoots. The flowers are nodding and tube shaped. The fruit are orange to red and cylinder shaped. They are 1-2 cm long by 6-9 mm aide. They have 8 ribs.
Life form -
Growth form
Growth support -
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 2.0 - 3.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
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Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Nitrogen fixer frankia
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

It is a subtropical plant. In southern China it grows between 600-1,800 m above sea level.
Light -
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Usage

Uses medicinal
Edible fruits
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) 140 - 180
Germination temperacture (C°) 10 - 18
Germination luminosity -
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Optimum temperature (C°) -
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Productivity -

Distribution

Elaeagnus difficilis world distribution map, present in China

Conservation status

Elaeagnus difficilis threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:323686-1
WFO ID wfo-0000663737
COL ID 6DZTP
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Elaeagnus cuprea Elaeagnus difficilis Elaeagnus difficilis var. brevistyla Elaeagnus difficilis var. difficilis