Shepherdia canadensis (L.) Nutt.
soopolallie (Canadian buffalo-berry; russet buffaloberry; soapberry)
Elaeagnaceae (Oleaster family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
soopolallie (Canadian buffalo-berry; russet buffaloberry; soapberry)
Elaeagnaceae (Oleaster family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Deciduous shrub; stems erect to spreading, young stems brownish-scaled, older branches brownish and scaly, 1-2 m tall.
Leaves:
Opposite, entire, elliptic to narrowly egg-shaped, 1.5-6 cm long, 1-3 cm wide, greenish on the upper surface, white-scaly and brownish-scaly beneath.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of 1 to several inconspicuous axillary flowers clustered on short branches; male and female flowers on separate plants, the male flowers brownish; petals lacking; sepals spreading to reflexed, 4-lobed, the lobes 1-2 mm long; stamens 8.
Fruits:
Berries, bright red, oval, 6-8 mm long, fleshy, bitter, soapy to touch when crushed.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
Yellow
Blooming Period:
Late Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Yellow
Present from Summer to Fall
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Shepherdia canadensis
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
1084 | 6 | 2460 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
22 | 0 | 262 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
194 | 0 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 0 | 8 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
8377 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
IDF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BG(11), BWBS(940), CDF(2), CWH(15), ESSF(693), ICH(994), IDF(1819), MS(1517), PP(79), SBPS(436), SBS(1251), SWB(120) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Mesic to dry sites in the lowland and steppe to subalpine zones; common throughout BC except absent on the Queen Charlotte Islands, N Vancouver Island and adjacent N coast; N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to OH, MN, SD, NM and OR.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Elaeagnus canadensis (L.) A. Nels.
Lepargyrea canadensis (L.) Greene