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Silver Buffaloberry
Shepherdia argentia, Saskatchewan
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Elaeagnaceae
Genus:	Shepherdia
Species:	S. argentea
Binomial name
Shepherdia argentea (Pursh) Nutt.

Shepherdia argentea (Silver Buffaloberry or Bull berry, thorny buffaloberry) is a species of Shepherdia, native to central North America from southern Canada (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba) south in the United States to northern California and New Mexico.^[1]

It is a deciduous shrub growing to 2–6 m tall. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs (rarely alternately arranged), 2–6 cm long, oval with a rounded apex, green with a covering of fine silvery, silky hairs, more thickly silvery below than above. The flowers are pale yellow, with four sepals and no petals. The fruit is a bright red fleshy drupe 5 mm in diameter; it is edible but with a rather bitter taste.^[2]

The berry is one of the mainstays of the diet of the Sharp-tailed Grouse, the provincial bird of Saskatchewan.

References