New Mexico Olive
Forestiera pubescens

Family: Oleaceae

OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: stretchberry, elbow bush, devil’s elbow, New Mexico privet
Spanish: cruzilla

CHARACTERISTICS
This is relatively a small, deciduous tree (or large shrub) growing to about 15-20’ tall and wide. In fall the leaves of this species turns yellow before dropping. Sometimes inconspicuous but fragrant flowers appear in spring followed by fruits that ripen to purple. This plant can form thickets. Plants are dioecious, which means the male and female plants are separate—the male flowers are slightly more showy (bright yellow) than the female flowers. It is difficult to find sexed plants in the trade, but you need one of each in your neighborhood if you want fruits.

LANDSCAPE USE
This is a good screening plant because of its shrubby nature. The deciduous foliage enriches the soil beneath each year as it drops.

Photo by Mountain States Wholesale Nursery

GROWING CONDITIONS
AN EXPLANAITION OF TERMS USED

SUN full sun, can tolerate part sun when young
WATER moderate to low, slower growing with less water
SOIL tolerant, but drainage and amendment are recommended
HARDINESS hardy to -20°F
BASIN middle zone
CONTAINER not recommended
NUTRITION moderate
MAINTENANCE very little

ECOLOGY
Flowers attract nectar-loving insects, fruits attract birds and other critters, and the plant is larval host for incense cedar sphinx (Sphinx libocedrus), hairstreaks (subfamily Theclinae) and other moths and butterflies. Because of the early blooms (usually starting in February) this tree is an important resource for bees. This is a great nesting and perching plant for birds.

ETHNOBOTANY
The fruits are edible but bitter. Leaves used as a ceremonial emetic and the stems used to make ceremonial sticks.

NATURAL DISTRIBUTION
Found in moist soils of canyon bottoms from 4,500-6,500 ft. Ranges from Utah and Colorado, west to California and east to Oklahoma and Texas and south into Chihuahua.

TAXONOMY AND NAME
Formerly known as Forestiera neomexicana.
This plant is in the Oleaceae, the olive family. There are 23 accepted species in the Genus Forestiera native to Mexico, Central America, the West Indies, Ecuador and the southern half of the United States.
Forestiera is named for Charles Le Forestier, an 18th century French naturalist and physician, while pubescens means having soft, downy hair.
Look out for the much more scarce species Forestiera shrevei, which ranges across the lower Sonoran Desert in southern Arizona and south into northern Mexico. It is somewhat smaller (with smaller leaves) but has much of the same attributes as the desert olive.