Flora of North America species comparison

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Shepherdia rotundifolia

roundleaf buffaloberry, silver-scale
Habit Shrubs, 0.5–2 m, not clonal.
Stems

unarmed.
Leaves

ever-green;

blade broadly ovate, 1.5–3.5 × 1–3 cm, margins revolute, surfaces silvery-pubescent, hairs stellate.
Flowers

sepals green, 2.5–4 mm on staminate flowers, 2–3 mm on pistillate flowers;

nectary disc conspicuous.
Fruits

light green, ellipsoid, 6–8 mm, dry (not fleshy), densely silvery-scaly and stellate-pubescent.
Seeds

brown, 3–4 mm.

Shepherdia rotundifolia
Phenology Flowering Mar–May.
Habitat Dry, open, often rocky places, sandstone, sometimes on clay soils, pinyon-juniper zone.
Elevation 1000–2600 m. (3300–8500 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Shepherdia rotundifolia is an attractive shrub of the southwestern deserts of North America; it grows on rock ledges or slick-rock sandstone habitats where the rounded growth form and bright silver indument are distinctive. Drought tolerance makes it a good candidate for gardens in arid regions; it has been planted in some botanical gardens.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 10.
Parent taxa Elaeagnaceae > Shepherdia
Sibling taxa
S. argentea, S. canadensis
Synonyms Elaeagnus rotundifolia, Lepargyrea rotundifolia
Name authority Parry: Amer. Naturalist 9: 350. (1875)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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