Shepherdia canadensis(L.) Nutt.

russet buffaloberry

WFO wfo-0000499493 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Shepherdia canadensis, photographed by Allan Harris
fig. a Allan Harris, CC0 1.0 / 2022-06-13 / obs. 205888197
Shepherdia canadensis, photographed by tonyblake
fig. b tonyblake, CC0 1.0 / obs. 205013010
Shepherdia canadensis, photographed by Shane Johnson
fig. c Shane Johnson, CC0 1.0 / obs. 204764359
Shepherdia canadensis, photographed by agbelliveau
fig. d agbelliveau, CC0 1.0 / obs. 204008591
Shepherdia canadensis, photographed by Shane Johnson
fig. e Shane Johnson, CC0 1.0 / obs. 204669872
Shepherdia canadensis, photographed by Shane Johnson
fig. f Shane Johnson, CC0 1.0 / obs. 204686481
Shepherdia canadensis, photographed by Syd Cannings
fig. g Syd Cannings, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 203876568
Shepherdia canadensis, photographed by Shane Johnson
fig. h Shane Johnson, CC0 1.0 / obs. 204518107

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 37 botanical countries

Regions where Shepherdia canadensis is native: Alaska, Alberta, Arizona, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Labrador, Maine, Manitoba, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Brunswick, New Mexico, New York, Newfoundland, North Dakota, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ohio, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Québec, Saskatchewan, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Yukon AlaskaAlbertaArizonaBritish ColumbiaCaliforniaColoradoIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaLabradorMaineManitobaMichiganMinnesotaMontanaNevadaNew BrunswickNew MexicoNew YorkNewfoundlandNorth DakotaNorthwest TerritoriesNova ScotiaNunavutOhioOntarioOregonPennsylvaniaQuébecSaskatchewanSouth DakotaUtahWashingtonWisconsinWyomingYukon
Native distribution of Shepherdia canadensis, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Alaska ASK NORTHERN AMERICA
Alberta ABT
Arizona ARI
British Columbia BRC
California CAL
Colorado COL
Idaho IDA
Illinois ILL
Indiana INI
Iowa IOW
Labrador LAB
Maine MAI
Manitoba MAN
Michigan MIC
Minnesota MIN
Montana MNT
Nevada NEV
New Brunswick NBR
New Mexico NWM
New York NWY
Newfoundland NFL
North Dakota NDA
Northwest Territories NWT
Nova Scotia NSC
Nunavut NUN
Ohio OHI
Ontario ONT
Oregon ORE
Pennsylvania PEN
Québec QUE
Saskatchewan SAS
South Dakota SDA
Utah UTA
Washington WAS
Wisconsin WIS
Wyoming WYO
Yukon YUK

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 5 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Elaeagnus canadensis (L.) A.Nelson
  • Hippophae canadensis L.
  • Lepargyrea canadensis (L.) Greene
  • Shepherdia canadensis f. canadensis
  • Shepherdia canadensis f. xanthocarpa Rehder

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.