Shepherdia canadensis
Canadian Buffalo Berry ( Shepherdia canadensis)
The Canadian Buffalo Berry ( Shepherdia canadensis) is one of three species belonging to the genus of buffalo berries. The Canadian buffalo berry is a shrub that is found in open, sparse forests and bushland in North America. In Alaska, you can find the shrub often. The Canadian Buffalo Berry reaches a height of one to four meters. She wears small -seeded red berries. The human eye perceives the taste of these berries as bitter.
Description
The Canadian buffalo berry is a deciduous shrub that reaches the heights of growth from one to four meters. The thin branches are covered with reddish- brown scales. The roots have, as with the other buffalo berries also thickened with root nodule bacteria ( Frankia ) that can fix nitrogen. The oppositely arranged leaves are constantly above, pale green above, paler with striking brown scales.
The flowering period extends from April to June. The flowers are either male or female, being on a plant only one form occurs ( dioecious ), rarely there are plants with male and female flowers. The flower develops into a beer like fruit, the pulp is made from flower cups enclosing a nut fruit. The rounded fruits are orange or red, there is a shape with yellow fruit ( Shepherdia canadensis forma xanthocarpa Rehd. ). The fruits mature from June to August.
Dissemination
The Canadian buffalo berry has a large area of distribution in northern North America. In the north, it is still above the Arctic Circle in Canada and Alaska before. To the southeast of the U.S. Canadian border is about their southern limit of distribution, to the southwest, however, it comes in the higher elevations of the Rocky Mountains currently much further south and reached Arizona and New Mexico. Altitudes up to 3400 meters are populated.
The locations of the Canadian Buffalo Berry are in the understory of light coniferous forests just with Subalpine Fir (Abies lasiocarpa ), ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), white spruce (Picea glauca ), Douglas Fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii), lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta ), Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii ), and in forest communities with American quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides ). The soils on which these buffalo berry grows, are mostly skeletal rich and range from sandy to gravelly over rocky. Nutrient-poor soils can settle well the Canadian buffalo berry, where it forms many root nodules to collect nitrogen.
Ecology
The leaves are eaten by mule deer, white-tailed deer and elk. Bighorn sheep mainly use the fresh shoot. Animals such as cattle and horses disdain the Canadian buffalo berry usually. Buffalo berries are also a food plant of some butterflies, such as Coleophora elaeagnisella.
The fruits are often eaten by bears. In the Yukon, the Canadian buffalo berry is the most important fruit in the diet of grizzly bears dar. Based on Grizzlybärenkot has been estimated that up to 200,000 single individuals eat fruit daily. They play an essential role in the time when the Bears build up their fat stores to survive the winter. Also, black bear and grouse eat the fruit.
After fires the Canadian buffalo berry from the rootstock hits out again. You can then fire through good and benefited from by thinning canopy.
Use
The fruits of the Canadian Buffalo Berry played a role in the diet of indigenous peoples who gathered in the area of present-day Canada. The use of these fruits has been handed down primarily by the Nlaka'pamux and the Secwepemc, who settled in what is now British Columbia. The bitter berries were eaten directly, but processed into Sxusem. The berries were mixed with sweet fruits and the zermuste mixture of berries hit hard in order to produce the typical foam of Sxusem feed. The foam is formed due to the saponins contained in the buffalo berries. In large amounts, taken to be such saponins can cause stomach irritation in humans. The indigenous peoples, but where Sxusem played a role, the mixture attributed to health-promoting properties. The taste of Sxusem is bittersweet - not unlike a sweetened coffee.
Due to the saponin content, the berries can be used as natural soap, which is why the plant is known in English usage as a soapberry (not to be confused with plants of the genus Sapindus, which are also known in English as soapberry ).
The Canadian buffalo berry can be used to landscape disturbed areas again and prevent erosion. About root cuttings a horticultural propagation is possible, the plants grow on raw soils well and improved by their ability to accumulate nitrogen, soil fertility. Occasionally, the Canadian buffalo berry is used as ornamental tree.
Documents
- Crystal J. Walkup (1991 ): Shepherdia canadensis. In: Fire Effects Information System, ( online ). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory.
- Scott C. Walker: Shepherdia Nutt. Buffaloberry. Retrieved on January 7, 2011.
- Template: Internet resource / maintenance / access date is not in the ISO FormatSoopolallie ( Shepherdia canadensis). Ministry of Forests and Range, British Columbia, accessed on 13 August 2009 (PDF, 45 kB).