Silver Buffaloberry

Photo credit:  SriMesh (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Common
Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.

Frank Lloyd Wright

This  fruiting tree like shrub is a member of the olive family( Elaegnaceae) and is known to be thicket forming . It can attain a height of one to six metres high with crown widths of five to six meters.  It rarely reproduces by seed since its seeds have low viability,  but it is known for its suckering ability.  There are separate male and female plants and both are required for fruit development

This plant is a particularly important winter food for wildlife due to the persistence of its fruits.  The berries of this plant is one of the most important food source of the sharp tailed grouse over winter and in many places their survival over winter is dependant on these berries. (As well as sage, snowberry and rose)   The flowers of silverberry appear early in spring and provide an early source of nectar and pollen for pollinators and bees during a time when floral resources are scarce.  Therefore, silver buffalo berry plays an important role in the survival of bees and other pollinators.  The young shoots are good browse for deer, rabbit and hare.  Once it reaches two years old, it develops thorns which make it difficult to be browsed.  The large thorns of this plant provide birds and other small animals with good cover and protection from predators, making it an ideal nesting site for song birds.  It is also an important food for bears and elk.

This shrub is capable of fixing nitrogen, so it enriches soil allowing more plants to grow.  This ability to fix nitrogen allows it to grow in poor soil where other plants would not be able to.  Because of its ability to tolerate salty soils, it was widely distributed and planted as a shelter belt tree by the PFRA.  This tough plant is being studied and used for reclamation projects in soil contaminated by acid or heavy metals such as mined land.

First Nations ate the berries fresh and used them for cooking into sauces and dried them for winter use and for some , it was a staple food.  Some tribes  added the berries into medicinal mixtures and used it as a laxative or for stomach troubles.  The shredded bark was used for making laces

When this plant grows on your land, it  enriches you soil with nitrogen, it provides food for pollinators, ensuring the fertilization and productivity  of your vegetables,seeds and fruits , as well providing food and shelter for a myriad of wildlife.   So often we take for granted  the marvels of the natural world.  We really need to treasure and revere this plant for its importance in supporting the soil and the life that sustains us


http://herb.umd.umich.edu/herb/search.pl?searchstring=Shepherdia+argentea

http://www.prairie-elements.ca/buffaloberry.html

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_PLANTMATERIALS/publications/mtpmctn12232.pdf

http://www.forthall.net/plants/silver_buffaloberry_shepherdia_a.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepherdia_argentea