The New International Encyclopædia/Buffalo-berry

BUFFALO-BERRY (Shepherdia argentea). While familiar to horticulturists for many years, the buffalo-berry has but recently taken rank as a fruit-plant. It is a native of the cold, dry northwestern part of North America, where it has achieved its greatest success under cultivation. The buffalo-berry is a shrub with small silvery leaves, short thorny spines or branches, upon which the fruits, of about the size of a common currant, are borne. The plant is dioecious, consequently both male and female forms must be planted in order to insure fruit production. The two forms are easily recognized by the form and distribution of the winter buds; the staminate or male plant bears small rounded buds in dense clusters scattered all along the spurs; the pistillate, or female plant, bears fewer and more elongated buds, usually in pairs along the sides of the spurs. The fruits are either red or yellow, are used for jellies, and often serve instead of currants for this purpose. There are no cultivated varieties on the market. The plant is valuable as an ornamental shrub. See Elæagnus.