Description Autumn olive is a deciduous shrub or small tree in the Oleaster family.
Leaves are alternate, oval to lanceolate, and untoothed.
The underside of the dark green leaf is covered with silver-white scales. The plant may grow to a height of 20 feet. The small, light yellow flowers are borne along twigs after the leaves have appeared early in the growing season. The small, round, juicy fruits are reddish to pink, dotted with scales, and produced in great quantity. Autumn olive is easily confused with a closely related species, Russian olive, which is also an invasive species.