# silver buffaloberry

*Shepherdia argentea*

The berries contain natural saponins, which can be whipped with water and sugar to create a foaming, frothy treat historically used by Indigenous peoples.

- **Taxonomy:** Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Rosales › Elaeagnaceae › Shepherdia
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** grassland
- **Habitat:** Riparian zones, stream banks, moist hillsides, and prairie ravines.
- **Diet:** Autotrophic (photosynthesis, nitrogen-fixing via actinorhizal symbiosis)
- **Range:** Great Plains of North America, Rocky Mountains, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Montana, North Dakota
- **Size:** Deciduous shrub growing 2 to 6 meters (6 to 20 feet) tall.
- **Lifespan:** 20-50 years
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Habitat loss due to agricultural expansion, invasive species, and overgrazing.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless, but watch for sharp, spine-tipped branches. Safe to approach. If harvesting the edible, tart red berries, wear thick gardening gloves to avoid painful punctures; wash any scratches with soap and water.

## About

Shepherdia argentea , commonly called silver buffaloberry , bull berry , or thorny buffaloberry , is a species of Shepherdia in the Russian olive family.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/f2bb1439-d233-4fa0-8da6-6e79117cd4b2
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/79071
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepherdia argentea
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/9801114/medium.jpg (Mary Krieger, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.