I discovered an olive tree growing in the wilderness of the Thompson-Nicola, B.C. yesterday. I didn't even realize it was an olive tree at the time- too worried about bears I guess. Anyway, the photo I am looking at still shocks me. From what little I have read it takes a few years for a tree to produce fruit and if that is so then this olive was planted 2 or 3 years ago. Winters are fairly cold here but the location is somewhat sheltered and close to water with lots of exposure to sun. It does not look tended to and has massive amounts of fruit. Edit: by massive amounts I mean quite a lot since I don't know what's common...and it's possible the tree was planted in the spring after all since there is a rough road leading to it.
Re: Olives in the Okanagan? It won't be an olive, just something else that looks somewhat similar. Perhaps an Oleaster (Elaeagnus angustifolia), an invasive alien shrub from central Asia which is often mistaken for an olive.
Yep, an Oleaster; and no, not much culinary use - it is edible, but doesn't have much flavour, nor an enticing texture (rather floury). And if you go on promoting this sort of naming with the errors of the uneducated taking precedence over the factual evidence of the educated, you can expect to continue causing confusion of this sort that Artemis12 has experienced. It really doesn't help anyone, and it is so easy to use common names that do have botanical standing instead. Fortunately, Artemis12 had the good luck to post here before wasting a whole lot of money planting olives in Okanagan on the basis of erroneous data, but it could so easily have been otherwise.
On the topic at hand: not Russian Olive (E. angustifolia), but more likely an Autumn Olive (or Japanese silverberry, umbellata oleaster, autumn elaeagnus, or spreading oleaster), E. umbellata, in which case not floury textured at all (as per angustifolia), but juicy. Not typically good however: quite astringent, even when ripe.
Spreading oleaster (E. umbellata) has fruits that turn red at maturity, this one doesn't show the slightest hue of red (which it should by now). I would say it is the native american silverberry (E. commutata).
I wanted to get a better picture to post but the site is kind of restricted right now. I read about the invasive nature of Oleaster/Elaeagnus angustifolia and now feel kind of disturbed about it's presence here. But the confusion was not about the common name- it was because of how it LOOKED. I really did assume it was a genuine olive and did a web search to see if it grew in these parts. (Evidently it's possible on Vancouver Island.) For what it's worth, common names may not have botanical standing but they can't be avoided...there is often more info to be found with a common name from typical gardeners than from searches based on Latin names. Thanks to all who replied.
I agree with Axel. From the picture posted the plant looks more like american silverberry Elaeagnus commutata which is native to BC, than like alien Elaeagnus angustifolia. E. angustifolia fruit is a small cherry-like drupe 1-1.7 cm long, orange-red covered in silvery scales , the fruit on the picture doesn't show the slightest hue of orange-red either. The color of the bark on the twig resembles that of E. commutata too, not of E. augustifolia . The environment the plant has been found in (typically grows on dry to moist sandy and gravel soils in steppes, meadows or woodland edges also fits E. commutata perfectly. . . . So, no need for feeling disturbed before being absolutely sure of the identification.
Definitely not angustifolia, though I'll buy commutata over umbellata. Angustifolia has leaves very different from either umbellata or commutata: silver/grey above and below, lanceolate, and quite downy.
