| Shepherdia argentea | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Elaeagnaceae |
| Genus: | Shepherdia |
| Species: | S. argentea |
| Binomial name | |
| Shepherdia argentea | |
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| Synonyms [2] | |
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Shepherdia argentea, commonly called silver buffaloberry, [3] bull berry, or thorny buffaloberry, is a species of Shepherdia in the Oleaster family. It is native to central and western North America.
Shepherdia argentea is a deciduous shrub growing from 2–6 metres (6+1⁄2–19+1⁄2 ft) tall. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs (rarely alternately arranged), 2–6 centimetres (3⁄4–2+1⁄4 in) long, oval with a rounded apex, green with a covering of fine silvery, silky hairs, more thickly silvery below than above. [4]
The flowers are pale yellow, with four sepals but no petals. [4]
The fruit is a bright red fleshy drupe 5 mm in diameter; it is edible but with a rather bitter taste. [5] Two cultivars, 'Xanthocarpa' and 'Goldeneye', form yellow fruit. [4]
The Latin specific epithet argentea refers to the silver color of the plant's leaves and stems. [6]
Shepherdia argentea is native to the western and central parts of Canada and North America, [7] from the Prairie Provinces of Canada (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba) southwards in the United States as far as Ventura County in California, as well as northern Arizona, and northwestern New Mexico. [8] [9]
It grows in many different kinds of habitats such as riparian areas, woodlands, exposed slopes on prairies, and in dry, sandy soils of plains and canyons. [6]
The berry is one of the mainstays of the diet of the sharp-tailed grouse, the provincial bird of Saskatchewan. The foliage provides important forage for mule deer [10] and white-tailed deer. [11] The shrub's thorny branches and thicket forming habit provide a shelter for many small animal species and an ideal nesting site for songbirds. [12] Over the extent of its range, the buffaloberry is an important species in a variety of ecological communities. For example, in the shrub-grassland communities of North Dakota it is found growing with many native grasses, while in riparian woodlands of Montana and Western North Dakota it can be found in plant communities dominated by green ash. [13]
Like the Canada buffaloberry, S. argentea has been used historically as a food, medicine, and dye. [14] Its various uses including the treatment of stomach troubles and in coming-of-age ceremonies for girls. [15]
In the Great Basin, the berries were eaten raw and dried for winter use, but more often cooked into a flavoring sauce for bison meat. [16] The buffaloberry has been a staple food to some Native Americans, who ate the berries in puddings, jellies, and in raw or dried form. [17]
The Gosiute Shoshone name for the plant is añ-ka-mo-do-nûp. [18]
The Elaeagnaceae are a plant family, the oleaster family, of the order Rosales comprising small trees and shrubs, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, south into tropical Asia and Australia. The family has about 60 species in three genera.
Berberis aquifolium, the Oregon grape or holly-leaved barberry, is a species of flowering plant in the family Berberidaceae, native to western North America. It is an evergreen shrub growing 1–3 meters tall and 1.5 m (5 ft) wide, with pinnate leaves consisting of spiny leaflets, and dense clusters of yellow flowers in early spring, followed by dark bluish-black berries.
Elaeagnus angustifolia, commonly called Russian olive, silver berry, oleaster, or wild olive, is a species of Elaeagnus, native to Asia and limited areas of eastern Europe. It is widely established in North America as an introduced species.
Ceanothus is a genus of about 50–60 species of nitrogen-fixing shrubs and small trees in the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae). Common names for members of this genus are buckbrush, California lilac, soap bush, or just ceanothus. "Ceanothus" comes from Ancient Greek: κεάνωθος (keanōthos), which was applied by Theophrastus to an Old World plant believed to be Cirsium arvense.
Amelanchier alnifolia, the saskatoon berry, Pacific serviceberry, western serviceberry, western shadbush, or western juneberry, is a shrub native to North America. It is a member of the rose family, and bears an edible berry-like fruit.
Shepherdia, commonly called buffaloberry or bullberry, is a genus of small shrubs in the Elaeagnaceae family. The plants are native to northern and western North America. They are non-legume nitrogen fixers.
Shepherdia canadensis, commonly called Canada buffaloberry, russet buffaloberry, soopolallie, soapberry, or foamberry is one of a small number of shrubs of the genus Shepherdia that bears edible berries.
Cornus sericea, the red osier or red-osier dogwood, is a species of flowering plant in the family Cornaceae, native to much of North America. It has sometimes been considered a synonym of the Asian species Cornus alba. Other names include red brush, red willow, redstem dogwood, redtwig dogwood, red-rood, American dogwood, creek dogwood, and western dogwood.
Purshia tridentata, with the common name bitterbrush, is a shrub in the genus Purshia of the family Rosaceae. It is native to mountainous areas of western North America.
Vaccinium parvifolium, the red huckleberry, is a species of Vaccinium native to western North America.
Ericameria nauseosa, commonly known as chamisa, rubber rabbitbrush, and gray rabbitbrush, is a shrub in the sunflower family (Aster) found in the arid regions of western North America.
Lycium californicum is a spreading shrub in the nightshade family known by the common names California boxthorn and California desert-thorn.
Sambucus racemosa is a species of elderberry known by the common names red elderberry and red-berried elder.
Antennaria argentea is a North American species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae known by the common name silver pussytoes or silvery everlasting. It is native primarily to Oregon and to northern and central California with additional populations in Nevada, Idaho, Montana, and Washington.
Balsamorhiza sagittata is a North American species of flowering plant in the tribe Heliantheae of the family Asteraceae known by the common name arrowleaf balsamroot. Also sometimes called Oregon sunflower, it is widespread across western Canada and much of the western United States.
Physalis longifolia, known by the common names common groundcherry, longleaf groundcherry, and wild tomatillo, is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. It is native to North America, where it is native to eastern Canada, much of the continental United States, and northern Mexico. It has also been noted as an introduced species in other regions, including parts of the United States outside its native range. In some areas, such as California, it is an occasional noxious weed.
Salix geyeriana is a species of willow known by the common names Geyer's willow, Geyer willow and silver willow. The type specimen was collected by the botanist Karl Andreas Geyer, for whom it was named. Its conspicuous, yellow flowers begin to bloom as early as March, to as late as the end of June.
Sambucus cerulea or Sambucus nigra ssp. cerulea, with the common names blue elderberry and blue elder, is a coarse textured shrub species of elder in the family Adoxaceae.
Shepherdia rotundifolia, the roundleaf buffaloberry or silverleaf, is a 3-to-6-foot (1-to-2-meter) evergreen shrub in the oleaster family (Elaeagnaceae) that grows only in the Colorado Plateau (endemic) of the southwestern United States. The common name comes from western settlers using the cooked berries in a sauce for eating cooked buffalo meat.
Media related to Shepherdia argentea at Wikimedia Commons
