Buffalo Berry. (Shepherdia argenta). Buffalo meat eaten with the
tart scarlet berries Shepherdia argenta was a favorite dish of American
Indians, which explains how the berries got the name. Later, settlers
learned to make a delicious jelly with the oval berries that was
customarily served with a haunch of venison, and the wild bush that bore
them began to be planted as a windbreak or hedge on the northern plains.
Called also the Nebraska currant, the silverleaf, beef suet tree, rabbit
berry, and wild oleaster, it was and is highly valued not only for its
berries but because the thorny shrub, 10 to 18 feet high, is among the
hardiest in cultivation. Shepherdia is named for John Sheperd, a curator
of the Liverpool Botanic Garden. It will stand dry, rocky soil and
windswept sites, but does best in moist loam similar to its native habitat
along river banks. The bush also makes a handsome ornamental with its
scarlet berries and small, silvery leaves. Its main drawback is its sharp
thorns, which makes berry picking a bit difficult. The smaller thornless
Canadian buffalo berry (shepherdia canadensis) could be used in its place
but has inferior berries.
Buffalo berry bushes are easily started form seed, suckers, or cuttings,
and care for them is minimal. They need only be pruned to keep them under
control and require no fertilization at all. Since the species is
dioecious-bears flowers of only on sex-both male and female plants must be
planted in the same area or bushes wont bear. Berries can be orange or
yellow as well as scarlet and their taste improves it the clusters are
allowed t o hang on the bush until touched by the first frost. They are
made into jelly and can be dried to be used like currants, their flavor
similar to a cross between a wild grape and a red currant. Bushes are
available from Gurney's.
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