Elaeagnus angustifolia (Russian Silverberry, Oleaster, or Russian-olive) is a species of Elaeagnus, native to western and central Asia, from southern Russia  and Kazakhstan to Turkey and Iran.

It is a usually thorny shrub or small tree growing to 5-7 m in height. Its stems, buds, and leaves have a dense covering of silvery to rusty scales. The leaves are alternate, lanceolate, 4-9 cm long and 1-2.5 cm broad, with a smooth margin. The highly aromatic flowers are produced in clusters of 1-3 together, 1 cm long with a four-lobed creamy yellow corolla; they appear in early summer and are later replaced by clusters of fruit, a small cherry-like drupe 1-1.7 cm long, orange-red covered in silvery scales. The fruit is edible and sweet, though with a dryish mealy texture. Its common name comes from its similarity in appearance to olive (that is trees of the entirely separate family Oleaceae).

The shrub can fix nitrogen in its roots,[1] enabling it to grow on bare, mineral substrates.
Contents
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    * 1 Cultivation
    * 2 Propagation
    * 3 See also
    * 4 References
    * 5 External links

[edit] Cultivation
Russian olive (silver foliage) at a rare cienega in New Mexico, United States

First cultivated in Germany in 1736, it is now widely grown across southern and central Europe as an ornamental plant: for its scented flowers, edible fruit, and attractive silver foliage and black bark. It was introduced into North America in the late 1800s, and subsequently naturalized into the wild. Russian olive is considered to be an invasive species because it has low seedling mortality rates therefore crowding out native vegetation in the wild. It often invades riparian habitat where overstory cottonwoods have died.

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Well as the German name indicates it's a willow and you say the wood is very light and easy to cut (as willow's tend to be) I would say that is not a good sign for bows.  Willow is generally a soft, brittle wood. Not good for a whole lot.