Elaeagnaceae

The Elaeagnaceaefamily includes small trees and shrubs. They are dispersed primarily in the Northern hemisphere – in the moderate climate zone, also to be found in the south in tropical Asia and Australia. The family consists of 3 genera, and 50species.
The leaves are simple elliptic or lanceolate, the flowers – solitary or several arranged within the part of the leaves.The branches have thorns or spikes.
Most species are xerophytes – dry-resistant plants. There are also halophytes that exhibiting tolerance to high soil salinity.