Autumn Olive

My impression is that people like Friends of Great Swamp have done a pretty good job at removing invasive species there, when I saw this plant in the ecosystem, I had hoped it was a native plant. Unfortunately it turned out to be the invasive Autumn Olive. 

Autumn Olive was intentionally brought here from eastern Asia, mostly to be an ornamental plant. It readily escapes from lawns/gardens though when birds eat their fruit and poop it out someplace distant. While you might think "at least it's helping the birds", that's not as true as you might think. The berries are considered to be of relatively low nutritional value to our birds, and although if you're hungry enough I suppose empty calories can have some value, when you factor in that the Autumn Olive is occupying land that might otherwise have Southern Arrowwood or other native plant, it's really not a winning situation for the ecosystem. The worst thing about invasive plants isn't what they do, it's what they prevent from growing in their place.

Apparently the berries are edible, and are most commonly used in jams.

September 30, 2021 at Great Swamp
Photo 168357842, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

September 30, 2021 at Great Swamp
Photo 168357870, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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