Buffaloberry, Silver - Shepherdia argentea

A spreading shrub occasionally forming thickets to 5 m (16 feet) tall; bark is dull gray, thin, smooth when young becoming somewhat ridged and shredding when older; branches are short, stout and younger stems are covered with dense, silvery-white scales; leaves are opposite, simple, widest near the middle, rounded at base and tip, leathery and covered on both sides with dense silvery scales; flowers, male and female on separate plants, male flowers in small clusters and female flowers on short stalks both near the tip of branchlets; fruit is produced singly or in clusters, round, somewhat fleshy, smooth, bright red and enclosing an egg-shaped, flattened seed. Habitat is generally seasonally wet, well-drained alluvial floodplains near rivers and streams on sandy to coarse texture soils. It is tolerant of some flooding, but is intolerant of prolonged flooding and permanent high water tables. Both hard seed coats and embryo dormancy occur requiring 20 to 30 minutes of acid scarification followed by 60 to 90 days of cold stratification at 20° to 30°C (68 to 86°F). Seeds should be planted at 0.6 cm (0.25 inch).

Greenhouse asexual propagation information is very limited. Softwood cuttings taken in July and treated with 8,000 parts per million IBA may prove successful based on results with related species. Successful seedling percentage is about 50 percent.

Field propagation by dormant unrooted hardwood cuttings is rarely successful. Root cuttings can be taken and planted without treatment with fair success.

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Last Modified: 07/05/2007