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Shepherdia
canadensis (Canada Buffaloberry) Elaeagnaceae (Oleaster Family) Foothills, montane, subalpine.
Moist woodland hillsides. Spring. This Buffaloberry is fairly common at the bottom of hillsides in the mountains but its color is not as distinctive as Shepherdia argentea and therefore it is not noticed very often. It grows to a sprawling six feet tall and wide, less than half the size of S. argentea. Shepherdia is dioecious, bearing staminate (male) flowers on separate shrubs from the pistillate (female) flowers. All three Shepherdia shown on this web site flower profusely in very early spring and then the pistillate shrubs put on an abundance of berries. In 1753 Linnaeus named this species Hippophae canadensis; it was given its present name in 1818 by Thomas Nuttall. |
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Shepherdia
canadensis (Canada Buffaloberry) Elaeagnaceae (Oleaster Family) Foothills, montane, subalpine.
Moist woodland hillsides. Spring. The top side of S. canadensis leaves is distinctly different from the bottom. Some authorities indicate that the upper surface is glabrous (smooth), but the photos at left and below indicate that at least some shrubs are densely hairy with intriguing starburst (stellate) hairs. The underside of the leaves is covered with a cinnamon scale-like growth.
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Shepherdia
canadensis
(Canada Buffaloberry) Elaeagnaceae (Oleaster Family) Foothills, montane, subalpine.
Moist woodland hillsides. Spring. Minute staminate flowers will pollinate pistillate flowers (both just a few millimeters wide) to give rise to berries treasured by bears. The shiny green of early spring leaf growth mellows to a dark green as berries ripen red. |
Range map © John Kartesz,
County Color Key
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Range map for Shepherdia canadensis |