Shepherdia canadensis, August 13, 2020
Common & scientific name
Canada buffaloberry or Soapberry, Shepherdia canadensis
Family
Oleaster, Elaeagnaceae
Location
Difficult Creek, 9,000’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
I’m showing this plant in fruit, as opposed to in bloom, because I missed bloom time, which is easy to do: the flowers are tiny, greenish, and somewhat hidden in the plant’s leaf axils. Their August red berries, by contrast, are so bright as to be impossible to miss, and are favorites of grouse and black bears. They are also edible for humans: I tried one pictured and found it pleasantly sweet, although every book says that that sweetness devolves into an unpleasant soapy flavor (hence its other common name, “soapberry”). Try for yourself, then cleanse the palate with a neighboring thimbleberry, if necessary!