Description
Silver buffaloberry, a sun-loving shrub with tall stature, features long thorns and striking silvery leaves. It’s a nitrogen fixer and thrives in arid and poor soil conditions, even tolerating salinity. It tends to spread, forming dense thickets.
This shrub’s flowers are early bloomers, making it a valuable resource for pollinators during early spring. Its sweet and delicious berries, distinct from those of Canada buffaloberry, ripen late, and sweeten after a frost. While only female plants produce berries, the presence of male plants is crucial for pollination, ideally at a ratio of one male to seven females. Both male and female leaves are suitable for tea.
Indigenous to grasslands, silver buffaloberry is often used as a windbreak in those bioregions. However, its adaptability extends its suitability into the aspen parkland and boreal forest, establishing it as a favored species for shelterbelts across the prairies. With its nitrogen-fixing capabilities and delectable berries, it stands as an excellent addition to food forests or alley cropping systems.
