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| ## buffaloberry {#buffaloberry .Title-Header}                         |
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| *Shepherdia canadensis* (L.) Nutt.                                    |
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| Plant Symbol = SHCA                                                   |
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Contributed by: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center

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# Alternative Names

soapberry, buffalo-berry, russet buffaloberry, russet red buffaloberry,
Canadian buffalo-berry

# Uses

*Ethnobotanic*: Buffaloberry berries were used to make "Indian ice
cream" which has a bitter taste but was often sweetened with salal
berries, camas bulbs, or hemlock cambium (Pojar & MacKinnon 1994). The
berries were also eaten fresh or dried.

The Wet'suwet'en used the twigs, leaves, berries, and juice medicinally
for everything from heart attacks to indigestion. The berries were also
chewed by Wet'suwet'en women to induce childbirth. The Salish and
Kootenai tribes boiled debarked branches and used the solution as
eyewash. A poultice of the inner bark, softened by hot water and mixed
with pin cherry bark (*Prunus pensylvanica*) has been used to make a
plaster or bandage for wrapping broken limbs (Moerman 1998).

*Landscaping & Wildlife*: *Shepherdia canadensis* plants are grown
occasionally for ornamental use. The berries are browsed by grouse,
black bears, grizzly bears, and snowshoe hares.

# Status

# Please consult the Plants Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant's current status, such as, state noxious status and wetland indicator values.

# Description

*General*: Oleaster Family (Elaeagnaceae). Buffaloberry is a native,
deciduous, nitrogen-fixing shrub that ranges in height from three to
thirteen feet. The leaves are opposite, oval, two to six centimeters
long, dark greenish on upper surface with whitish silvery hairs and
rusty brown spots on the undersurface (Pojar & MacKinnon 1994). The
flowers are small, yellowish or brownish, male and female flowers on
separate shrubs. The fruits are drupelike, red or yellowish, ovoid
achenes, that are fleshy and edible but almost tasteless or bitter
(Viereck & Little
1972).![](media/image2.jpeg){width="2.7819444444444446in"
height="1.8881944444444445in"}

*Distribution*: Buffaloberry is found from Newfoundland to Alaska, south
to Maine, to western New York, Ohio, and northern Mexico. For current
distribution, please consult the PLANTS profile page for this species on
the PLANTS Web site.

# 

# Adaptation 

*Shepherdia canadensis* occurs in dry to moist open woods and thickets,
from lowlands to middle elevation forests (Pojar & MacKinnon 1994). It
prefers moist to wet soil and is generally found on rocky, sandy, or
gravelly soils and is able to survive on nutrient poor soils because of
its nitrogen fixing ability. This species prefers partial shade or
partial sun to full sun.

# Establishment

*Propagation by Seed*: Buffaloberry seeds should be harvested in the
autumn and sown immediately in a cold frame. The seeds must not be
allowed to dry out. Seeds have a hard seed coat and scarification with
sulfuric acid for twenty to thirty minutes followed by two to three
months of cold stratification will help the embryo to develop (Dirr &
Heuser 1987). Place the seedlings into individual pots when they are
large enough to handle. If sufficient growth is made by the summer, it
is possible to plant them out, otherwise grow them in a cold frame for
the first winter and out plant the following spring or early summer.

# Management

*Shepherdia canadensis* fruit contain low concentrations of a bitter
principle, saponin, which foams in water. It is very poorly absorbed by
the body and can be broken down by thoroughly cooking the fruit. Saponin
is much more toxic to some creatures, such as fish, if eaten in large
quantities.

# Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

Somewhat available from native plant nurseries within its range. Contact
your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil
Conservation Service) office for more information. Look in the phone
book under "United States Government." The Natural Resources
Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading "Department of
Agriculture."

# References

Britton, N.L. & A. Brown 1970. *An illustrated flora of the northern
United States and Canada*. Dover Publications, New York, New York.

Carter, J.L. 1997. *Trees and shrubs of New Mexico*. Mimbres Publishing.

Dirr, M.A. 1997. *Dirr's hardy trees and shrubs: an illustrated
encyclopedia*. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon.

Dirr, M. A. & C. W. Heuser, Jr. 1987. *The reference manual of woody
plant propagation: from seed to tissue culture*. Varsity Press, Athens,
Georgia.

Fernald, M.L. & A.C. Kinsey 1958. *Edible wild plants of eastern North
America*. Harper & Brothers Publishers, New York, New York.

Kowal, R. 2002. *Shepardia canadensis*. IN Plant Systematics Teaching
Collection, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. Accessed:
11jan02. \<http://www.wisc.edu/botit/systematics/contributors.html\>

Moerman, D. 1998. *Native American ethnobotany*. Timber Press, Oregon.

Mozingo, H.L. 1987. *Shrubs of the Great Basin: a natural history*.
University of Nevada Press, Reno, Nevada.

Pojar, J. & A. MacKinnon 1994. *Plants of the Pacific Northwest coast:
Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, and Alaska*. Lone Pine Publishing,
Redmond, Washington.

Stephens, H.A. 1973. *Woody plants of the North Central Plains*. The
University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas.

The Great Plains Flora Association 1986. *Flora of the Great Plains*.
University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas.

Viereck, L.A. & E.L. Little, Jr. 1972. *Alaska trees and shrubs*. United
States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. Agriculture Handbook
No. 14. Washington, D.C.

Vines, R.A. 1960. *Trees, shrubs, and woody vines of the southwest*.
University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas.

# Prepared By

#### *Jammie Favorite*

formerly USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

# Species Coordinator

*M. Kat Anderson*

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center, c/o Plant Sciences Dept., Davis,
California

Edited: 19jun02 jsp; 03jun03 ahv; 060817 jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

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*To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of
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