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Shepherdia rotundifolia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Roundleaf buffaloberry
Roundleaf buffaloberry with flowerbuds in Grand Canyon National Park

Vulnerable  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Elaeagnaceae
Genus: Shepherdia
Species:
S. rotundifolia
Binomial name
Shepherdia rotundifolia
Parry

Shepherdia rotundifolia, the roundleaf buffaloberry[2] 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.[3]: 97  The common name comes from western settlers using the cooked berries in a sauce for eating cooked buffalo meat.[3]: 97 

Leaves and stems

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"Rotundifolia" is for the oval or egg-shaped leaves, which can vary to being lance shaped.[3]: 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.[3]: 97 

Inflorescence and fruit

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Flowers open from May to June and are yellowish.[3]: 97  They are produced singly or in a cluster from leaf axils.[3]: 97 

Fruits are elliptical, with star-shaped hairs.[3]: 97 

Habitat and range

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It grows in mixed desert shrub, pinyon juniper woodland, and ponderosa pine forest communities as high as 7,800 feet (2,400 m) elevations.[3]: 97 

References

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  1. ^ NatureServe (7 April 2023). "Shepherdia rotundifolia". NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  2. ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "​Shepherdia rotundifolia​". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h 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.