Al Schneider's Rocky Mountains Plant Descriptions

Silver Buffaloberry
Shepherdia argentea
Oleaster family (Elaeagnaceae)

Silver Buffaloberry's rigid and thorny branches provide safe habit for birds and other small critters. are edible, becoming sweeter and less tart after the first frost. Like the Canadian Buffaloberry (S. canadensis), Silver Buffaloberry, contain small amounts of saponin, which should be consumed in limited amounts and which give the its soapy consistency. Silver Buffaloberry is a valuable forage species for mule deer, pronghorn, and other browsers while its are eaten by a wide range of birds and other wildlife. The plant adapts well to disturbed or degraded wet sites and is also commonly used as a shelterbelt species.

The name honors British botanist, John Shepherd. The specific epithet is from the Latin, "argenta," "silvery" for the silvery-green leaves. The was named by Thomas Nuttall in 1818 and he also named this species. Shepherdia argentea was first collected for science by Meriwether Lewis in 1804 where the Niobrara River meets the Missouri River.


© James L. Reveal

Description

many and intricately-branched shrub, 6-14' tall, with rigid thorny branches. Species is with male and female flowers on different plants. Tiny yellow flowers in dense conspicuous clusters, blossom in very early spring before leaves emerge. , to , and silvery-gray on both surfaces. Stems on older branches often -tipped. Plant spreads widely from roots. are bright red in small clusters usually covering the plant.

Field Marks

Shrub, silver-gray leaves, rigid thorny branches, and red .

© Al Schneider

thorn -- a sharp, still point, usually a modified stem, that cannot be detached without tearing the subtending tissue. A spine.

In an opposite leaf arrangement the leaves come in pairs with one leaf on each side of a stem.

Deciduous plants are those that lose all of their leaves for part of the year.

fruit -- any seed-bearing structure in flowering plants. It is formed from the ovary after flowering.

In an opposite leaf arrangement the leaves come in pairs with one leaf on each side of a stem.

The botanical term "berry" is different from common usage. Strawberries and raspberries are not berries. But a tomatoe is. A true berry is a fruit with the seeds immersed in the pulp.

elliptic -- Oval, with no point or a very short point.

genus -- A subdivision of a botanical Family in which all members have a significant number of similar characteristics.

dioecious -- When male and female reproductive structures are on separate plants.

lanceolate -- Lance-shaped. Long, wider in the middle.