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wing buckwheat, wing wild buckwheat

bottle stopper, desert trumpet, Indian pipeweed

Habit Herbs, monocarpic, 5–20(–25) dm, strigose or glabrous; taproot often chambered. Herbs, erect, perennial, occasionally flowering first year, 1–10(–15) dm, glabrous, usually glaucous, grayish.
Stems

caudex absent;

aerial flowering stems usually 1, not fistulose, 2–13 dm, strigose or glabrous.

caudex compact;

aerial flowering stems erect, solid or hollow and fistulose, (0.2–)2–5 dm, glabrous, usually glaucous, occasionally hirsute proximally.

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;

petiole 2–6 cm, hirsute;

blade oblong-ovate to oblong or rounded to reniform, (0.5–)1–2.5(–3) × (0.5–)1–2(–2.5) cm, short-hirsute and grayish or greenish on both surfaces, sometimes less so or glabrous and green adaxially, margins occasionally undulate.

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.

cymose, open, spreading to erect, 5–70 × 5–50 cm;

branches occasionally fistulose, glabrous, usually glaucous;

bracts 3, scalelike, 1–2.5(–5) × 1–2.5 mm.

Peduncles

erect, straight or curving upward, 0.5–3.5 cm, strigose or glabrous.

erect, straight, filiform to capillary, 0.5–2(–3.5) cm, glabrous.

Involucres

turbinate to campanulate, 2–4(–4.5) × 2–4(–4.5) mm, strigose or glabrous;

teeth 1–1.8 mm.

turbinate, 1–1.5 × 1–1.8 mm, glabrous;

teeth 5, erect, 0.4–0.6 mm.

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.

(1–)2–3(–4) mm;

perianth yellow with greenish or reddish midribs, densely hirsute with coarse curved hairs;

tepals monomorphic, narrowly ovoid to ovate;

stamens exserted, 1.3–2.5 mm;

filaments glabrous or sparsely pubescent proximally.

Achenes

yellowish green to reddish brown, 5–9 mm, glabrous, 3-winged entire length, beakless.

light brown to brown, lenticular to 3-gonous, 2–2.5 mm, glabrous.

2n

= 32.

Eriogonum alatum

Eriogonum inflatum

Phenology Flowering year-round.
Habitat Sandy to gravelly washes, flats, and slopes, mixed grassland, saltbush, creosote bush, mesquite, and sagebrush communities, pinyon and/or juniper woodlands
Elevation -30-1800(-2000) m (-100-5900(-6600) ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CO; KS; NE; NM; OK; TX; UT; WY; including Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; NM; NV; UT; Mexico (Baja California, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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.)

The cause of the fistulose stem and inflorescence branches in Eriogonum inflatum was imaginatively attributed by A. M. Stone and C. T. Mason (1979) to the larvae of gall insects. This fallacy continues to appear in the literature. Greenhouse studies have shown that stems of this and some other species of the genus inflate without the presence of any insects. Other researchers have shown that the inflation involves a build-up of CO2 within the stems, which take over as the primary photosynthetic body as leaves wilt or eventually dry up and fall away from the plant (C. D. Osmond et al. 1987). Not all individuals of E. inflatum will have fistulose stems and branches, as this feature is partly a function of available moisture: the drier the conditions, the less pronounced the inflation. Stems produced in the summer tend to be inflated less frequently than those produced in the spring.

The “annual” phase of Eriogonum inflatum is distinct from its truly annual relatives. Its flowering stems and inflorescence branches are distinctly grayish, whereas those of the true annuals are green or yellowish green.

As circumscribed here, Eriogonum inflatum occurs in Arizona, southern and east-central California, western Colorado, northwestern New Mexico, central and southern Nevada, and southern and eastern Utah.

Some Native Americans occasionally ate newly emerged stems of Eriogonum inflatum (S. A. Weber and P. D. Seaman 1985; M. L. Zigmond 1981). The hollow stems were used as drinking tubes (Weber and Seaman) and pipes (E. W. Gifford 1936). This wild buckwheat is a food plant for the desert metalmark butterfly (Apodemia mormo deserti).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Flowering stems and inflorescence branches usually strigose; peduncles strigose or nearly so; involucres strigose, rarely glabrous; plants 5-13(-17) dm; n Arizona, Colorado, w Kansas, sw Nebraska, New Mexico, w Texas, e Utah, se Wyoming
var. alatum
1. Flowering stems and inflorescence branches glabrous or nearly so; peduncles glabrous, occasionally slightly strigose; involucres glabrous; plants 10-20(-25) dm; ne New Mexico, w Oklahoma, n Texas
var. glabriusculum
Source FNA vol. 5, p. 379. FNA vol. 5, p. 386.
Parent taxa Polygonaceae > subfam. Eriogonoideae > Eriogonum > subg. Pterogonum Polygonaceae > subfam. Eriogonoideae > Eriogonum > subg. Ganysma
Sibling taxa
E. abertianum, E. acaule, E. aliquantum, E. allenii, E. alpinum, E. ammophilum, E. ampullaceum, E. androsaceum, E. anemophilum, E. angulosum, E. annuum, E. apiculatum, E. apricum, E. arborescens, E. arcuatum, E. aretioides, E. argillosum, E. argophyllum, E. arizonicum, E. artificis, E. atrorubens, E. baileyi, E. batemanii, E. bicolor, E. bifurcatum, E. brachyanthum, E. brachypodum, E. brandegeei, E. breedlovei, E. brevicaule, E. butterworthianum, E. caespitosum, E. capillare, E. cernuum, E. chrysops, E. cinereum, E. cithariforme, E. clavatum, E. clavellatum, E. codium, E. collinum, E. coloradense, E. compositum, E. concinnum, E. congdonii, E. contiguum, E. contortum, E. correllii, E. corymbosum, E. covilleanum, E. crocatum, E. cronquistii, E. crosbyae, E. cusickii, E. darrovii, E. dasyanthemum, E. davidsonii, E. deflexum, E. deserticola, E. desertorum, E. diatomaceum, E. diclinum, E. divaricatum, E. douglasii, E. eastwoodianum, E. effusum, E. elatum, E. elegans, E. elongatum, E. ephedroides, E. eremicola, E. eremicum, E. ericifolium, E. esmeraldense, E. evanidum, E. exaltatum, E. exilifolium, E. fasciculatum, E. flavum, E. fusiforme, E. giganteum, E. gilmanii, E. glandulosum, E. gordonii, E. gossypinum, E. gracile, E. gracilipes, E. gracillimum, E. grande, E. greggii, E. gypsophilum, E. havardii, E. heermannii, E. helichrysoides, E. hemipterum, E. heracleoides, E. hieracifolium, E. hirtellum, E. hirtiflorum, E. hoffmannii, E. holmgrenii, E. hookeri, E. howellianum, E. hylophilum, E. incanum, E. inerme, E. inflatum, E. intrafractum, E. jamesii, E. jonesii, E. kelloggii, E. kennedyi, E. kingii, E. lachnogynum, E. lancifolium, E. latens, E. latifolium, E. lemmonii, E. leptocladon, E. leptophyllum, E. libertini, E. lobbii, E. loganum, E. lonchophyllum, E. longifolium, E. luteolum, E. maculatum, E. mancum, E. marifolium, E. mensicola, E. microthecum, E. mitophyllum, E. mohavense, E. molestum, E. mortonianum, E. multiflorum, E. natum, E. nealleyi, E. nervulosum, E. nidularium, E. niveum, E. nortonii, E. novonudum, E. nudum, E. nummulare, E. nutans, E. ochrocephalum, E. ordii, E. ostlundii, E. ovalifolium, E. palmerianum, E. panamintense, E. panguicense, E. parishii, E. parvifolium, E. pauciflorum, E. pelinophilum, E. pendulum, E. pharnaceoides, E. plumatella, E. polycladon, E. polypodum, E. prattenianum, E. prociduum, E. pulchrum, E. pusillum, E. pyrolifolium, E. racemosum, E. reniforme, E. ripleyi, E. rixfordii, E. robustum, E. rosense, E. roseum, E. rotundifolium, E. rubricaule, E. rupinum, E. salicornioides, E. saxatile, E. scabrellum, E. scopulorum, E. shockleyi, E. siskiyouense, E. smithii, E. soliceps, E. soredium, E. spathulatum, E. spectabile, E. spergulinum, E. sphaerocephalum, E. strictum, E. subreniforme, E. suffruticosum, E. temblorense, E. tenellum, E. ternatum, E. terrenatum, E. thomasii, E. thompsoniae, E. thornei, E. thurberi, E. thymoides, E. tiehmii, E. tomentosum, E. trichopes, E. tripodum, E. truncatum, E. tumulosum, E. twisselmannii, E. umbellatum, E. ursinum, E. vestitum, E. villiflorum, E. vimineum, E. viridescens, E. viridulum, E. viscidulum, E. visheri, E. watsonii, E. wetherillii, E. wootonii, E. wrightii, E. zionis
E. abertianum, E. acaule, E. alatum, E. aliquantum, E. allenii, E. alpinum, E. ammophilum, E. ampullaceum, E. androsaceum, E. anemophilum, E. angulosum, E. annuum, E. apiculatum, E. apricum, E. arborescens, E. arcuatum, E. aretioides, E. argillosum, E. argophyllum, E. arizonicum, E. artificis, E. atrorubens, E. baileyi, E. batemanii, E. bicolor, E. bifurcatum, E. brachyanthum, E. brachypodum, E. brandegeei, E. breedlovei, E. brevicaule, E. butterworthianum, E. caespitosum, E. capillare, E. cernuum, E. chrysops, E. cinereum, E. cithariforme, E. clavatum, E. clavellatum, E. codium, E. collinum, E. coloradense, E. compositum, E. concinnum, E. congdonii, E. contiguum, E. contortum, E. correllii, E. corymbosum, E. covilleanum, E. crocatum, E. cronquistii, E. crosbyae, E. cusickii, E. darrovii, E. dasyanthemum, E. davidsonii, E. deflexum, E. deserticola, E. desertorum, E. diatomaceum, E. diclinum, E. divaricatum, E. douglasii, E. eastwoodianum, E. effusum, E. elatum, E. elegans, E. elongatum, E. ephedroides, E. eremicola, E. eremicum, E. ericifolium, E. esmeraldense, E. evanidum, E. exaltatum, E. exilifolium, E. fasciculatum, E. flavum, E. fusiforme, E. giganteum, E. gilmanii, E. glandulosum, E. gordonii, E. gossypinum, E. gracile, E. gracilipes, E. gracillimum, E. grande, E. greggii, E. gypsophilum, E. havardii, E. heermannii, E. helichrysoides, E. hemipterum, E. heracleoides, E. hieracifolium, E. hirtellum, E. hirtiflorum, E. hoffmannii, E. holmgrenii, E. hookeri, E. howellianum, E. hylophilum, E. incanum, E. inerme, E. intrafractum, E. jamesii, E. jonesii, E. kelloggii, E. kennedyi, E. kingii, E. lachnogynum, E. lancifolium, E. latens, E. latifolium, E. lemmonii, E. leptocladon, E. leptophyllum, E. libertini, E. lobbii, E. loganum, E. lonchophyllum, E. longifolium, E. luteolum, E. maculatum, E. mancum, E. marifolium, E. mensicola, E. microthecum, E. mitophyllum, E. mohavense, E. molestum, E. mortonianum, E. multiflorum, E. natum, E. nealleyi, E. nervulosum, E. nidularium, E. niveum, E. nortonii, E. novonudum, E. nudum, E. nummulare, E. nutans, E. ochrocephalum, E. ordii, E. ostlundii, E. ovalifolium, E. palmerianum, E. panamintense, E. panguicense, E. parishii, E. parvifolium, E. pauciflorum, E. pelinophilum, E. pendulum, E. pharnaceoides, E. plumatella, E. polycladon, E. polypodum, E. prattenianum, E. prociduum, E. pulchrum, E. pusillum, E. pyrolifolium, E. racemosum, E. reniforme, E. ripleyi, E. rixfordii, E. robustum, E. rosense, E. roseum, E. rotundifolium, E. rubricaule, E. rupinum, E. salicornioides, E. saxatile, E. scabrellum, E. scopulorum, E. shockleyi, E. siskiyouense, E. smithii, E. soliceps, E. soredium, E. spathulatum, E. spectabile, E. spergulinum, E. sphaerocephalum, E. strictum, E. subreniforme, E. suffruticosum, E. temblorense, E. tenellum, E. ternatum, E. terrenatum, E. thomasii, E. thompsoniae, E. thornei, E. thurberi, E. thymoides, E. tiehmii, E. tomentosum, E. trichopes, E. tripodum, E. truncatum, E. tumulosum, E. twisselmannii, E. umbellatum, E. ursinum, E. vestitum, E. villiflorum, E. vimineum, E. viridescens, E. viridulum, E. viscidulum, E. visheri, E. watsonii, E. wetherillii, E. wootonii, E. wrightii, E. zionis
Subordinate taxa
E. alatum var. alatum, E. alatum var. glabriusculum
Synonyms Pterogonum alatum E. glaucum, E. inflatum var. deflatum, E. trichopes subsp. glaucum
Name authority Torrey: in L. Sitgreaves, Rep. Exped. Zuni Colorado Rivers, 168, plate 8. (1853) Torrey & Frémont: in J. C. Frémont, Rep. Exped. Rocky Mts., 317. (1845)
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