Autumn olive is the silvery-leaved shrub crowding fencerows and old fields across much of the eastern US, and it’s best known as a problem plant. Yet its small speckled red berries are edible, and they turn out to be one of the richest known sources of a nutrient better associated with tomatoes.1PubMed. Functional Validation of Phytoene Synthase and Lycopene ε-Cyclase Genes for High Lycopene Content in Autumn Olive Fruit (Elaeagnus umbellata) The qualities that make the shrub so hard to get rid of are the same ones that once led people to plant it on purpose.2Penn State Extension. Autumn Olive The most useful way to enjoy what it offers is to pick from it, not to plant more.
Autumn Olive Berries Are Packed With Lycopene
Lycopene is the red pigment that colors tomatoes and watermelon, and in the body it works as an antioxidant. Fresh tomatoes carry about 1 to 4 mg of lycopene per 100 g (3.5 oz).3HortScience. HIGH LYCOPENE CONTENT IN THE FRUIT OF AUTUMN OLIVE Wild autumn olive berries carried about 15 to 54 mg in the same amount.4HortScience. HIGH LYCOPENE CONTENT IN THE FRUIT OF AUTUMN OLIVE Named red-fruited varieties fell in a similar range, about 18 to 48 mg.5HortScience. HIGH LYCOPENE CONTENT IN THE FRUIT OF AUTUMN OLIVE The berries also contain beta-carotene and lutein, pigments linked to vitamin A and eye health.6HortScience. HIGH LYCOPENE CONTENT IN THE FRUIT OF AUTUMN OLIVE
That wide range comes from the plants themselves. Deeper red, fully ripe berries generally carry more pigment, so the darkest fruit is the one to go for. Lycopene is absorbed better when it’s eaten with a little fat, so a sauce made with a splash of oil or a bowl of berries with yogurt does more for you than berries alone. Cooking into jam or sauce doesn’t destroy lycopene the way heat harms some vitamins.
Wait until the fruit is fully ripe, often after the first cool nights in fall. Before that, it’s tart and slightly astringent.
Other Nutrients and Antioxidants in the Fruit
The fruit carries vitamin C along with iron, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium.7Chemistry and Ecology. Ecotypes diversity in autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellataThunb): A single plant with multiple micronutrient genes The small amount of fat in the fruit is about 89% unsaturated, and more than half is essential fats the body can’t make.8Emirates Journal of Food and Agriculture. Elaeagnus umbellata fruit – chemical composition, bioactive compounds, and kinetic of DPPH inhibition compared to standard antioxidants The berries also contain vitamin E in two forms, at about 9 to 23 mg per 100 g of their oil.9Journal of Functional Foods. Phenolic and tocopherol content of autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellate) berries
The berries are also rich in polyphenols, the plant compounds linked to the benefits of berries and tea. One analysis found about 325 mg of polyphenols per 100 g of fresh fruit, mostly anthocyanins, the same pigments found in blueberries.10Applied Sciences. Phytochemical Characterization and Bioactivity Evaluation of Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellata Thunb.) Pseudodrupes as Potential Sources of Health-Promoting Compounds Their overall antioxidant capacity was similar to other small fruits with known health value.11Applied Sciences. Phytochemical Characterization and Bioactivity Evaluation of Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellata Thunb.) Pseudodrupes as Potential Sources of Health-Promoting Compounds Among six varieties tested, ‘Brilliant Rose’ and ‘Jewel’ showed the strongest antioxidant activity.12PubMed. Variations in free radical scavenging capacity and antiproliferative activity among different genotypes of autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata)
What the Health Claims Really Show
Extracts from all six tested varieties slowed the growth of cancer cells in lab dishes.13USDA Agricultural Research Service. Variations in Free Radical Scavenging Capacity and Antiproliferative Activity Among Different Genotypes of Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellate Thunb) Compounds in the berries, such as ellagic acid, catechin and caffeic acid, have also shown anticancer activity in lab research.14PubMed Central. Elaeagnus umbellata: A miraculous shrub with potent health-promoting benefits from Northwest Himalaya The berries have been reported to block a gut enzyme that breaks starch into sugar, which could blunt blood-sugar spikes.15PubMed Central. Elaeagnus umbellata: A miraculous shrub with potent health-promoting benefits from Northwest Himalaya Human studies are still needed to confirm any benefit from eating the fruit.16USDA Agricultural Research Service. Variations in Free Radical Scavenging Capacity and Antiproliferative Activity Among Different Genotypes of Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellate Thunb)
Lab results don’t carry over to people easily. Cells in a dish are bathed in concentrated extract, far more than eating ever delivers to your tissues. Many foods kill cancer cells in a dish without preventing cancer in the people who eat them. And if you take diabetes medicine, talk to a doctor before using berry products to manage blood sugar.
Benefits for Soil, Tough Land and Pollinators
Autumn olive has root nodules where soil bacteria pull nitrogen from the air, giving the plant built-in fertilizer.17PubMed. Soil and groundwater nitrogen response to invasion by an exotic nitrogen-fixing shrub It can grow in very poor soils where most plants struggle.18The Nature Conservancy. Autumn Olive: Your Invasive, Seedy Neighbor It also tolerates salty soil, extreme acidity or alkalinity, and heavy metals.19Penn State Extension. Autumn Olive That means it can survive on roadsides, old mine land and industrial sites, and it was long seen as a plus for reclaiming strip-mined land.20Penn State Extension. Autumn Olive
Its silvery leaves, showy flowers and bright berries made it popular in landscaping, and it went in widely for erosion control, windbreaks and wildlife food. Those plantings started in the 1800s and continued for many decades.
Its clusters of fragrant pale yellow flowers open in May and June and draw pollinators.21UVic Permaculture. UVic Permaculture It is a dependable food source for native bumble bees and honey bees.22Plant Species Biology. Reproductive biology and pollinators of the invasive shrub Autumn olive ( Elaeagnus umbellata Thunberg) The flowers come before many native shrubs, when bees need food. That doesn’t outweigh its spread, since native flowering shrubs can fill the same role.
In one long-term planting, black walnut grown alongside autumn olive gave the highest projected timber yield and return.23Northern Journal of Applied Forestry. Growth, Yield, and Value Projections for Black Walnut Interplantings with Black Alder and Autumn Olive Birds and mammals eat the fruit heavily, but it’s less nutritious for them than the native shrubs it replaces.24Penn State Extension. Autumn Olive
Why Its Benefits Come With a Catch
Autumn olive came from eastern Asia to the US in the 1830s.25Res. Note NRS-204. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 5 p. An assessment of autumn olive in northern U.S. forests It leafs out early and keeps its leaves late, shading out native plants.26Michigan Natural Features Inventory. Invasive Species—Best Control Practices: Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) Its seedlings survive in shade as well as sun, so it moves into woods as well as fields.27Michigan Natural Features Inventory. Invasive Species—Best Control Practices: Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) Birds and mammals spread its many seeds far from the parent plant.28Michigan Natural Features Inventory. Invasive Species—Best Control Practices: Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) Its extra nitrogen also leaks into soil water and nearby streams, adding nitrate pollution.29JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association. Impact of an Invasive Exotic Species on Stream Nitrogen Levels in Southern Illinois The fertilizer trick that helps it on poor land upsets soil that native plants are adapted to.30Penn State Extension. Autumn Olive
Minnesota lists it as a restricted noxious weed and bans its sale.31Minnesota Department of Agriculture. October Weed of the Month: Autumn Olive Landowners there aren’t legally required to remove it but are strongly encouraged to manage it.32Minnesota Department of Agriculture. October Weed of the Month: Autumn Olive Check your state’s invasive plant list before buying or sharing plants.
You can enjoy the fruit without helping the shrub spread. Harvest from existing bushes rather than planting new ones, and don’t toss berry seeds or pulp in compost or open ground where they could sprout. If you decide to remove shrubs, native alternatives like elderberry or serviceberry offer fruit and pollinator food.
How to Pick and Eat Autumn Olive Safely
People commonly make the fruit into jams and jellies.33Town of Boxford Massachusetts. Autumn Olive Invasive Species Fact Sheet But heavy metals in soil can move from the roots up into the fruit.34Town of Boxford Massachusetts. Autumn Olive Invasive Species Fact Sheet The shrub thrives on roadsides and old mine sites, exactly where soils are often contaminated.35Penn State Extension. Autumn Olive So pick from old fields, yards and hedgerows away from busy roads, mines and industrial land.
Identify the shrub first. The leaves are green on top with a silvery, scaly underside. The berries are small, round and red, covered in tiny silver or gold speckles, and they hang in heavy clusters from early to mid fall. Russian olive, a relative, has narrower leaves and dry, mealy yellowish fruit.
To harvest quickly, lay a sheet under a branch and shake or rake the fruit onto it. Taste a few: fully ripe fruit is sweet-tart, while underripe fruit is puckery. Each berry has a soft single seed, which most people strain out for jam or fruit leather. The cooked purée works in sauces, ketchup-style condiments and baking. Rinse the berries well, and refrigerate or freeze them within a few days.
If you’re trying it for the first time, eat a small amount to see how you tolerate it. Never eat any wild berry you can’t identify with certainty, and let children eat only berries an adult has confirmed.