Bailey & Bailey: Woody Plants of National Parks 175 



even the backs of the large leaves and the thick flowering stalks. The sharp 

 prickles may make very painful wounds which may become infected. Hence 

 they are sometimes reputed to be poisonous. 



American devil's club has an interesting distribution, being found in widely 

 separated areas with no known connection between them. It is common 

 along streams and in wet places in the northwestern part of North America 

 from southern Alaska to California and the Rocky Mountains. From there 

 we find a wide gap to Lake Superior where it occurs on Isle Royale. It is 

 also found in Japan. 



Occurrence. — OLYMPIC: junction of Godkiii Creek and Elwha River, 2,000 feet; 

 Canyon Creek. MOUNT RAINIER, common: Longmiie road; Ohanapecosh Hot Springs; 

 White River. CRATER LAKE, rare: extreme northwest corner of park, 5,500 feet. GLA- 

 CIER, common, 3,100 to 4,500 feet: Lake McDonald; Avalanche Creek, St. Mary 

 Lake; trail to Gunsight Lake. ISLE ROYALE, occasional: Blake Point; Smithwick Is- 

 land; Passage Island; Gull Islands. 



Oleaster Family (Eleagnaceae) 

 Field Guide to the Genera 



Leaves opposite; herbage grayish- or rusty-mealy, or silvery gray; found mostly in 



Rocky Mountain and Southwest parks SHEPHERDIA, p. 175. 



Leaves alternate; herbage white-silvery, occurs in Rocky Mountain parks 



ELEAGNUS, p. 176. 



Buffaloberry {Shcpherdia Nutt.) 



The buffaloberries may be recognized by the scurfy or mealy leaves which 

 are rusty-spotted or silvery-gray, at least below. The flowers are inconspicuous 

 and without petals. The berries of the silver buffaloberry have a pleasant 

 tart flavor. Travelers crossing the country in the early days made them into a 

 sauce used as a garnish for buffalo steaks, hence the common name, buffalo- 

 berry. The Indians dried them for Winter use. The berries of the other 

 two species are not palatable. Those of russet buffaloberry are insipid and 

 bitter while those of roundleaf buflfaloberry are dry and silvery-scurfy like 

 the leaves. All are utilized, however, by birds and small mammals. (Syn. 

 Lepargyrea Raf.). 



Field Guide to the Species 



Leaves elliptic; fruits bright red or yellowish, smooth and currant-like, not scurfy; 

 found in Rocky Mountain and Northwest parks. 

 Branchlets spine-tipped; leaves densely silvery-scurfy below and thinly so 



above; berries tart, edible 1. 5. argenlea. 



Branchlets not spine-tipped; leaves dull green above, rusty-scurfy below; ber- 

 ries insipid and bitter 2. 5. canadensis. 



Leaves round to oval, grayish-silvery above, densely white-scurfy below; berries 



densely covered with whitish scurf; occurs in parks of the Southwest 



3. S. rolundi folia. 



1. Silver Buffaloberry {Shepherdia argentea Nutt.). — Stout shrub 

 or small tree 4 to 15 feet high with spine-tipped branchlets and silvery-gray 



