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| cornelian cherry fruit |
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| goumi fruit |
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| cornelian cherry flowers |
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| goumi flowers |
Descriptions from wiki
It is a medium to large deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 5–12 m tall, with dark brown branches and greenish twigs. The leaves are opposite, 4–10 cm long and 2–4 cm broad, with an ovate to oblong shape and an entire margin. The flowers are small (5–10 mm diameter), with four yellow petals, produced in clusters of 10–25 together in the late winter well before the leaves appear. The fruit is an oblong red drupe 2 cm long and 1.5 cm in diameter, containing a single seed.
It is is a deciduous or semi-evergreen shrub or small tree growing to 2-8 m tall, with a trunk up to 30 cm diameter with dark brown bark. The shoots are densely covered in minute red-brown scales. The leaves are ovate to elliptic, 3-10 cm long and 2-5 cm broad, green above, and silvery to orange-brown below with dense small scales. The flowers are solitary or in pairs in the leaf axils, fragrant, with a four-lobed pale yellowish-white corolla 1.5 cm long; flowering is in mid-spring. The fruit is round to oval drupe 1 cm long, silvery-scaled orange, ripening red dotted with silver or brown, pendulous on a 2-3 cm peduncle. When ripe in mid- to late summer, the fruit is juicy and edible, with a sweet but astringent taste somewhat similar to that of rhubarb.
Do you have either of these trees in your garden?
Thanks for these descriptions. To add to the discussion there is also the "autumn olive" or "elaeagnus umbellata" which is quite similar. I have planted a goumi and an autumn olive this year but they're only a foot high so far.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info Laurette. Autumn olive sounds interesting.
DeleteGoumi and autumn olive look almost identical. The flowering/fruiting characteristics are the only differences, in terms of ripening time (July for goumi and September for AO), fruit size (goumi much larger) and fruit production/organization (AO berries very numerous in clusters, goumi less numerous and spread out along branch).
DeleteHi Terry,
DeleteWow - thanks for this comparative list of differences between the Autumn Olive and the Goumi Berry!! Much appreciated! I am in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, on land that I inherited from my Dad. Many generations ago (mid to late 1800's), there was an uncle who loved mailing away to get seeds and plants from far-flung places and planting them on this land, to see if they would "take" here. As a result, we have (or have had) things growing here that are not particularly native or common to this area. These include: tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), Carpathian/English Walnut trees (Juglans regis var. Carpathian), Goumi Berry (Elaeagnus multiflora) or Autumn Olive Berry (Elaeagnus umbellata) - we never really knew which, since the uncle made no garden diary - and the odoriferous Balm of Gilead poplar (Populus sp.). I am not here on the farm too often, and so do not watch the Goumi/AO Berry bush for any length of time. Now that we are in the time of Covid-19, I am here for the duration and will have a chance to see the bush in flower, versus just in late/post-fruiting time. This will help with definitive identification, as you have described. Again, thanks for the BIG HELP from you!! Sincerely, Coleen
Thanks for researching this, Sue....fun discussion at the meeting! JR
ReplyDelete