Autumn olive is a native of China and Japan. It is a good news/bad news plant.
It was brought to North America in 1830, and
planted widely for wildlife habitat, shelter belts, and mine reclamation. It spread rapidly and has become an
invasive. Despite its bad rap as an invasive, it has interesting nutritional and health-related
merits, described below.
Identification: A large, fast-growing woody shrub or multiply branched
tree, up to 20′ (6.1 m) high.
Leaves are medium
green on top and silvery underneath, with small dots on the underside. Branches have a few thorns.
Produces small fragrant yellow flowers.
This plant produces enormous
numbers of red berries, each about ¼-⅜″ (6.3-9.5 mm) in diameter. The berries are speckled with
brown or silvery spots, and the bottom of each berry is indented. It is found in open sunny woodlands
and disturbed areas.
Edibility: Fully ripe berries are tart at first, becoming sweeter, reminiscent of currants, cranberries, and peaches. The berries can be made into jams, jellies, fruit leather, or sauces.
Medical: Autumn olive berries contain large amounts
of lycopene, 17 times as much as are in tomatoes, our major dietary source of lycopene.
Lycopene is an antioxidant which has
... generated widespread interest as a possible deterrent to heart disease and cancers of the prostate, cervix and gastrointestinal tract.[1]
The berries also contain β-cryptoxanthin, another antioxidant which
is converted to vitamin A in the body, and appears to suppress the likelihood of developing lung cancer.[2]