Shepherdia
| Shepherdia | |
|---|---|
| |
| Shepherdia argentea | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Elaeagnaceae |
| Genus: | Shepherdia Nutt. |
| Species | |
|
See text | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Shepherdia, commonly called buffaloberry[1] or bullberry, is a genus of small shrubs in the Elaeagnaceae family. The plants are native to northern and western North America.[2] They are non-legume nitrogen fixers.
Shepherdia is dioecious, with male and female flowers produced on separate plants.[3]
Species[]
The genus has three species:
| Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Shepherdia argentea | silver buffaloberry[4] | central and western North America, 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. |
 |
Shepherdia canadensis | Canada buffaloberry | all of Canada, except in Prince Edward Island, and in the western and northern United States, including Alaska and Idaho |
 |
Shepherdia rotundifolia | roundleaf buffaloberry | endemic to southern Utah and northern Arizona |
Fruit[]
The berry is recognizable by being a dark shade of red, with little white dots on them. They are rough to the touch, and are found on both trees and shrubs.
Wildlife[]
The plants have rather bitter-tasting berries. The fruit are often eaten by bears, which by legend, prefer the berries to maintain fat stores during hibernation.[5]
Buffaloberries are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including Ectropis crepuscularia (recorded from S. canadensis) and Coleophora elaeagnisella.
As food[]
Buffaloberries are sour and can be made into jam, pie, jelly, syrup, soups, or prepared like cranberry sauce with sugar added.[5]
References[]
- ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Shepherdia". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "Shepherdia Nutt". USDA PLANTS.
- ^ Renner, Susanne S. (2014). "The relative and absolute frequencies of angiosperm sexual systems: dioecy, monoecy, gynodioecy, and an updated online database". American Journal of Botany. 101 (10): 1588–1596. doi:10.3732/ajb.1400196. PMID 25326608.
- ^ "Silver buffaloberry" (PDF).
- ^ a b Elias, Professor, Thomas S. (1983). Edible Wild Plants A North American Field Guide (Digitized online by Google books). Peter A. Dykeman. Cengage Learning. pp. 9–28, 258. ISBN 0-442-22254-8. Retrieved 2009-01-25.
External links[]
Media related to Shepherdia at Wikimedia Commons
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- Shepherdia
- Rosales genera
- Dioecious plants
- Rosales stubs