Eriogonum alatum |
Eriogonum alatum var. glabriusculum |
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wing buckwheat, wing wild buckwheat |
Canadian River wild buckwheat, wing buckwheat |
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Habit | Herbs, monocarpic, 5–20(–25) dm, strigose or glabrous; taproot often chambered. | Plants 10–20(–25) dm. | ||||
Stems | caudex absent; aerial flowering stems usually 1, not fistulose, 2–13 dm, strigose or glabrous. |
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Aerial flowering stems | glabrous or nearly so. |
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Leaves | basal and sometimes cauline; basal petiolate, petiole 2–6 cm, stigose to woolly or glabrous, blade linear-lanceolate or lanceolate to oblanceolate to spatulate, (3–)5–20 × 0.3–2 cm, strigose, becoming glabrous and green on both surfaces except for margins and midvein; cauline sessile, blade linear-oblanceolate to lanceolate, 1–9 × 0.3–0.8(–1) cm, similar to basal blade. |
basal and cauline; basal: petiole 2–5, strigose, blade linear-lanceolate to lanceolate, 8–20 × 0.5–1.5 cm, slightly strigose or glabrous adaxially, glabrous abaxially except for strigose margins and midveins; cauline: blade 1–9 cm. |
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Inflorescences | 2–10 dm; branches strigose or glabrous; bracts semileaflike proximally, linear to linear-lanceolate, 2–9 × 1–3 mm, scalelike distally, triangular, 0.8–5 × 0.5–2 mm. |
2–6.5 dm; branches glabrous. |
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Peduncles | erect, straight or curving upward, 0.5–3.5 cm, strigose or glabrous. |
glabrous or occasionally slightly strigose. |
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Involucres | turbinate to campanulate, 2–4(–4.5) × 2–4(–4.5) mm, strigose or glabrous; teeth 1–1.8 mm. |
glabrous. |
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Flowers | 1.5–2.5 mm in anthesis, 3–6 mm in fruit; perianth yellow to yellowish green, rarely maroon in anthesis, often reddish or maroon in fruit, glabrous; tepals lanceolate; stamens 1.5–3 mm; filaments glabrous. |
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Perianths | yellow to yellowish green or maroon. |
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Achenes | yellowish green to reddish brown, 5–9 mm, glabrous, 3-winged entire length, beakless. |
5.5–9 × 3–5.5 mm. |
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2n | = 40. |
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Eriogonum alatum |
Eriogonum alatum var. glabriusculum |
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Phenology | Flowering Jul–Oct. | |||||
Habitat | Sandy to gravelly flats and gentle slopes, mixed grassland, saltbush, and mesquite communities, oak woodlands | |||||
Elevation | 300-1400 m (1000-4600 ft) | |||||
Distribution |
AZ; CO; KS; NE; NM; OK; TX; UT; WY; including Mexico
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NM; OK; TX |
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Discussion | Varieties 2 (2 in the flora). The mature reddish roots of Eriogonum alatum can be distinctively chambered. The Navajo (Diné) people consider the species to be a “life medicine” (L. C. Wyman and S. K. Harris 1951), using a mixture of shredded roots and water primarily to treat internal ailments. The species is used also as a ceremonial medicine (P. A. Vestal 1952). The Zuni use it as an emetic for stomachaches (S. Camazine and R. A. Bye 1980). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Variety glabriusculum is a distinctive taxon of the southern Great Plains, often being the tallest plants on the low, rolling hills. It is geographically isolated from var. alatum, being found near Ruth in Curry County, New Mexico, in western Oklahoma, and in northern Texas. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 5, p. 379. | FNA vol. 5, p. 380. | ||||
Parent taxa | Polygonaceae > subfam. Eriogonoideae > Eriogonum > subg. Pterogonum | Polygonaceae > subfam. Eriogonoideae > Eriogonum > subg. Pterogonum > Eriogonum alatum | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | Pterogonum alatum | |||||
Name authority | Torrey: in L. Sitgreaves, Rep. Exped. Zuni Colorado Rivers, 168, plate 8. (1853) | Torrey: in War Department [U.S.], Pacif. Railr. Rep. 4(5): 131. (1857) | ||||
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