Russian Olive

Elaeagnus angustifolia

Also known as Oleaster, Silverberry, Wild Olive, Trebizond Date, Senjed

At a glance

Family

Elaeagnaceae (the oleaster family)

Type

Deciduous shrub or small thorny tree

Parts used

Fruit, flowers, bark

Size

12 to 20 feet tall, with silvery, scaly, spine-tipped branches

Bloom

Small, intensely fragrant creamy-yellow flowers in late spring

Habitat

Riverbanks, floodplains, and disturbed dry ground across Central Asia, the Caucasus, and western Asia, now widely naturalized in North America

Acquisition

Forage

Traditional remedies in HerbSense

Key benefits

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Traditionally eases joint discomfort

Soothes digestive upset

Rich in antioxidants

Fragrant flowers, mildly calming

Traditional uses

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Long before it traveled the world as a hardy hedgerow tree, Russian olive was prized along the Silk Road for its sweet, mealy, date-like fruit, dried and carried the way other travelers carried figs or raisins. In Persian households the dried fruit, known as senjed, has traditionally been nibbled after meals and simmered into a mild tonic for digestive comfort, while folk healers across Iran and Central Asia turned to the fruit and flowers for joint and bone aches. The intensely perfumed blossoms were so beloved that entire orchards were once planted just for their scent, which people believed could be carried on the wind for miles.

How to grow & use it

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✦ Growing guide
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Pairs well with

✦Cinnamon
✦Rosehip
✦Ginger

Substitutes

✦Jujube (Chinese date)
✦Hawthorn berry

Choose it when

“For a taste of the old Silk Road, sweet, mealy, and mild enough to sip as a gentle after-dinner tonic.”

Did you know?

Senjed, the dried fruit of the Russian olive, holds a place of honor on the Persian Nowruz table among the seven symbolic Haft-Seen items, where it represents love and affection, a tradition rooted in the old belief that the tree's blossoms carried a scent so sweet it could stir romance in anyone who caught it on the breeze.

Safety

The fruit is a safe traditional food, but the tree is classified as invasive or restricted in many U.S. states and Canadian provinces, so check local rules before planting it. Its pollen can trigger seasonal allergies.