Shepherdia rotundifolia

Roundleaf buffaloberry
Roundleaf buffaloberry with flowerbuds in Grand Canyon National Park
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Elaeagnaceae
Genus: Shepherdia
Species: S. rotundifolia
Binomial name
Shepherdia rotundifolia
Parry

Shepherdia rotundifolia, the roundleaf buffaloberry[1] 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.[2]:97 The common name comes from western settlers using the cooked berries in a sauce for eating cooked buffalo meat.[2]:97

Leaves and stems

"Rotundifolia" is for the oval or egg-shaped leaves, which can vary to being lance shaped.[2]:97 They are 14 to 1 12 inches (6 to 38 mm) long, silvery green on top (hence the other common name), and hairy and pale on the bottom.[2]:97

Inflorescence and fruit

Flowers open from May to June and are yellowish.[2]:97 They are produces singly or in a cluster from leaf axils.[2]:97

Fruits are elliptical, with star-shaped hairs.[2]:97

Habitat and range

It grows in mixed desert shrub, pinyon juniper woodland, and ponderosa pine forest communities as high as 7,800 feet (2,400 m) elevations.[2]:97

References

  1. "Shepherdia rotundifolia". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Fagan, Damian (2012). Canyon Country Wildflowers (2 ed.). Morris Bush Publishing, LLC. in cooperation with Canyonlands Natural History Association. ISBN 978-0-7627-7013-7.
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