Soapberry, also called Buffalo Berry (Shepherdia canadensis) is a shrub, found in dry and open meadows or mixed with other shrubs. The Gardens plants are found by the path leading to the boardwalk at the south end next to Kiosk 09. A member of the Elaeagnaceae Family, its range includes North America.
WWU SAM Project’s, with 32 observations, appears to have little chance of extinction. Please know that most native NW plants make humans sick, many can kill. ~1 in 10, with proper preparation, are consumable; even then perhaps only a part of the plant (root, stalk, leaf, or fruit) is edible. Red berries should cause caution, in this case they are edible. Buffalo Berry was also called Soapberry for a reason: mixed with water it formed a froth thought useful for cleansing (and often consumed).
https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=SHCA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepherdia_canadensis
http://www.burkemuseum.org/research-and-collections/botany-and-herbarium/collections/database/results.php?Genus=Shepherdia&Species=canadensis&SourcePage=search.php&IncludeSynonyms=Y&SortBy=DESC&SortOrder=Year
https://burkeherbarium.org/imagecollection/taxon.php?Taxon=Shepherdia%20canadensis
https://www.plc215.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Kiosk-09.pdf
http://naeb.brit.org/uses/search/?string=Shepherdia+canadensis
Buffalo Berries are edible and were often dried for storage, even though their color is:
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