Roundleaf buffaloberry, silver-scale

Elaeagnus rotundifolia (Parry) A. Nelson; Lepargyrea rotundifolia (Parry) Greene

Shrubs, 0.5–2 m, not clonal. Stems unarmed. Leaves ever-green; blade broadly ovate, 1.5–3.5 × 1–3 cm, margins revolute, surfaces silvery-pubescent, hairs stellate. Flowers: sepals green, 2.5–4 mm on staminate flowers, 2–3 mm on pistillate flowers; nectary disc conspicuous. Fruits light green, ellipsoid, 6–8 mm, dry (not fleshy), densely silvery-scaly and stellate-pubescent. Seeds brown, 3–4 mm.

Flowering Mar–May. Dry, open, often rocky places, sandstone, sometimes on clay soils, pinyon-juniper zone; 1000–2600 m; Ariz., Utah.

Shepherdia rotundifolia is an attractive shrub of the southwestern deserts of North America; it grows on rock ledges or slick-rock sandstone habitats where the rounded growth form and bright silver indument are distinctive. Drought tolerance makes it a good candidate for gardens in arid regions; it has been planted in some botanical gardens.