| Roundleaf buffaloberry | |
|---|---|
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| Roundleaf buffaloberry with flowerbuds in Grand Canyon National Park | |
| Conservation status | |
 Vulnerable (NatureServe) | |
Scientific classification 
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| 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 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. The common name comes from western settlers using the cooked berries in a sauce for eating cooked buffalo meat.
Leaves and stems
"Rotundifolia" is for the oval or egg-shaped leaves, which can vary to being lance shaped. They are 1⁄4 to 1+1⁄2 inches (6 to 38 mm) long, silvery green on top (hence the other common name), and hairy and pale on the bottom.
Inflorescence and fruit
Flowers open from May to June and are yellowish. They are produced singly or in a cluster from leaf axils.
Fruits are elliptical, with star-shaped hairs.
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.
References
- NatureServe (7 April 2023). "Shepherdia rotundifolia". NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
- NRCS. "Shepherdia rotundifolia". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 12 November 2015.
- ^ 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.
| Taxon identifiers | |
|---|---|
| Shepherdia rotundifolia |
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