Elaeagnaceae
Elaeagnaceae, the oleaster family of flowering plants (order Rosales), comprising 45–60 species in 3 genera. The oleaster family is largely composed of shrubs and small trees of the Northern Hemisphere, especially in steppe and coastal regions.
Physical description
The plants have a characteristic silvery or rusty-coloured sheen, produced by a covering of distinctive tiny scales. Many species are armed with thorns, and most are deciduous. Nodules containing nitrogen-fixing bacteria are often associated with the roots. The flowers are radially symmetrical, are bisexual or separately male and female, and lack petals but have a tubular structure of four sepals. The stamens (pollen-producing structures) occur in the same number as, or in twice the number of, sepals. The female structure, or pistil, is positioned above the attachment point of the other flower parts and is composed of one carpel (ovule-bearing structural unit) containing one ovule. The fruits are fleshy.
Major genera and species
The genera are Elaeagnus (20–45 species), Hippophae (7 species), and Shepherdia (3 species). Several shrubs of the family are cultivated ornamentally, especially oleaster (Elaeagnus angustifolia), an attractive Eurasian tree. Buffalo berry, or silver buffalo berry (Shepherdia argentea), native to the Great Plains, has edible fruit and is grown as a hedge plant. Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) is cultivated for both its edible fruits and attractive willowlike foliage.
