ILLINOIS TREES: SELECTION, PLANTING, AND CARE 



105 



branches for most of the winter. The bark is red-brown, scaly, 

 and deeply fissured. 



Redbud is resistant to injury by ice and wind. It is subject 

 to two fungus diseases, Verticillium wilt and Botryosphaeria 

 canker, each of which may result in the death of affected trees. 

 Occasionally the foliage is damaged by the two-spotted spider 

 mite, which can be controlled by spraying with a miticide. The 

 rich, dark brown, close-grained wood is weak and has very little 

 commercial value. 



Russian Olive 



Russian olive or oleaster (Elaeagnus angustifoUa) , native 

 of central and western Asia and southern Europe, is a low-grow- 

 ing, somewhat shrublike tree (Fig. 95) that is hardy throughout 

 Illinois. It develops a crooked trunk with an irregular crown of 

 silvery twigs, and is sometimes spiny. It reaches a height of 20 

 feet, with a branch spread of 20-40 feet. Russian olive is used 

 in background or group plantings where silvery-white foliage 

 and gray twigs are desired. 



The lV->- to 3-inch-long, lance-shaped, blunt-tipped leaves 



Fig. 95. — Russian 

 olive has distinctive 

 foliage. The blunt- 

 tipped, lance-shaped 

 leaves (inset) are 

 whitish green above 

 and silvery beneath. 







