Flora of New Zealand Series

elaeagnus

Vigorous, often ± scrambling, dense shrub; stems to c. 20 m long, covered in peltate or stellate scales. Young shoots, petioles and lf midrib beneath with brown scales; older branches often spiny. Petiole 5-13 mm long. Lamina 4.5-9 × 1.5-4 cm, elliptic, soon becoming glabrous above, with silvery scales beneath, usually dotted with brown scales, sometimes densely covered in brown scales; margins undulate to almost flat; base rounded; apex obtuse, acute or shortly acuminate. Fascicles few-flowered; fls fragrant, ± pendulous. Pedicels 3-7 mm long, densely covered in brown scales. Calyx 10-13 mm long, abruptly constricted above ovary, covered with mostly silvery and few brown scales outside; lobes 2-4 mm long, triangular, acutely ribbed at base in bud. Stamens inserted at apex of tube; filaments very short, hidden behind anthers. Style slightly > calyx tube. Fr. 1.5-1.8 × 0.8-1 cm, oblong, pale reddish orange, with silver and brown scales. Seed 8-ribbed.

N.: cultivation escape, especially in warmer northern areas.

Origin unknown, possibly Japan 1940

Spreading from abandoned gardens and farms to cover adjacent trees and shrubs.

FL Mar-May.

In the 19th and early 20th century this plant was extensively cultivated for hedges and windbreaks around homesteads in both North and South Is, for which purpose its dense, often spiny branches made it very suitable. The extremely vigorous habit, requiring much pruning to keep the long arching shoots within bounds, caused it to go out of favour.

The status of this hybrid has been disputed; in some works it is considered to be a var. or form of the Japanese E. pungens Thunb. and has been recorded under this name in N.Z. It is undoubtedly very closely related to E. pungens, but is probably a hybrid between this sp. and E. glabra Thunb. from Japan and China. E. × reflexa differs from E. pungens in its scrambling habit, the frequent lack of thorns especially on smaller branches, and the presence of some lvs which are flat and have dense brown scales below. True E. pungens is very commonly cultivated in N.Z. as the yellow-margined cv. 'Variegata'.