Buffalo berries

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Buffalo berries
Silver-leaved Buffalo Berry (Shepherdia argentea)

Silver-leaved Buffalo Berry ( Shepherdia argentea )

Systematics
Nuclear eudicotyledons
Rosids
Eurosiden I
Order : Rose-like (rosales)
Family : Olive family (Elaeagnaceae)
Genre : Buffalo berries
Scientific name
Shepherdia
Nutt.

The buffaloberries ( Shepherdia ) are a genus of the olive family (Elaeagnaceae). Buffaloberries grow mainly shrub-like, but can also form small trees. They bear small red, orange or gray fruits. Three North American are included in this genus. The three species are common in temperate areas of North America .

Description and ecology

Vegetative characteristics

Round-leaved Buffalo Berry ( Shepherdia rotundifolia )

Shepherdia species are deciduous to evergreen woody plants that reach heights of 1 to 6 meters. The silver-leaved buffalo berry ( Shepherdia argentea ) forms dense stands over underground runners and has thorny branches; the other two types are unarmed. In thickened roots there are nodule bacteria ( Frankia ) that can fix nitrogen ; also were mycorrhizal found -Mushrooms. The opposite continuously arranged on the branches leaves are divided into petiole and leaf blade. The simple leaf blades are entire. Stipules are absent.

Canadian Buffalo Berry ( Shepherdia canadensis )
Distribution of buffaloberries ( Shepherdia )

Generative characteristics

Shepherdia species are dioeciously segregated ( diocesan ). The flowering time is early in the year, before or together with the leaves. The flowers stand individually or in groups in the leaf axils. The flowers smell and are pollinated by insects . The unisexual flowers have four yellowish-green sepals , but no petals . The male flowers have eight stamens . The female flowers have an ovary , which consists of a carpel . Infertile or rudimentary organs of the opposite sex are not present in the flowers.

With the berry-like fruit, the “ pulp ” is formed by the flower cup that surrounds a nut fruit .

Occurrence

The three Shepherdia species are common in temperate areas of North America . Fossil finds from the Miocene are also known from North America.

The locations are in alluvial forests, sparse forests, on the prairie , in dry bushes and semi-deserts. Altitudes up to 3400 meters are settled.

Systematics

The genus Shepherdia was established by Thomas Nuttall in 1818 . The generic name Shepherdia honors John Shepherd , a manager of the botanical garden in Liverpool. The genus Shepherdia is the sister taxon of the olive trees ( Elaeagnus ) and belongs to the family of the olive plants (Elaeagnaceae).

The following three species are known in the genus Shepherdia :

supporting documents

  • IV Bartish, U. Swenson: Elaeagnaceae . In: Klaus Kubitzki (Ed.): The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants . Flowering plants. Dicotyledons: Celastrales, Oxalidales, Rosales, Cornales, Ericales. tape 6 . Springer, 2013, ISBN 3-540-06512-1 , pp. 131–134 ( Shepherdia on page 133 in Google Book Search).
  • Scott C. Walker: Shepherdia Nutt .: Buffaloberry. (PDF) Archived from the original on July 17, 2011 ; accessed on August 25, 2015 (in the web archive).

Single receipts

  1. ^ Thomas Nuttall: The Genera of North American Plants. Volume 2, 1818, p. 240. online

Web links

Commons : Buffaloberries ( Shepherdia )  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files