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annual buckwheat, annual wild buckwheat

Habit Herbs, 5–20 × 5–10 dm, grayish. Herbs, biennial or annual, polygamodioecious, floccose to tomentose; taproot somewhat woody.
Stems

erect, without persistent leaf bases, pubescent;

caudex stems absent;

aerial flowering stems erect, slender to stout, solid, not disarticulating in ringlike segments proximally, arising directly from the root.

Aerial flowering stems

slender, 4–10(–15) dm, floccose to densely tomentose.

Leaves

petiole (rosette) 0.3–1.2 cm, or petiole (cauline) 0.2–0.5 cm, tomentose to floccose;

blade oblanceolate to oblong, 1–7 × 0.3–1.5 cm, densely tomentose abaxially, floccose adaxially not thickened and auriculate-subclasping proximally;

margins entire or slightly revolute.

persistent or marcescent, in basal rosettes or fasciculate and scattered along stems, 1 per node;

blade usually tomentose.

Inflorescences

3–10 × 2–7 cm;

bracts triangular, 1–4 mm.

terminal, cymose, compact to open;

branches dichotomous, round, smooth, tomentose to floccose;

bracts 3, connate basally, scalelike.

Peduncles

0.1–0.5 cm, tomentose to floccose.

absent or erect, slender.

Involucres

turbinate to campanulate, 2.5–4 × 2–3 mm, tomentose to floccose abaxially, glabrous adaxially;

teeth 5–6, 0.4–1 mm.

1 per node, not appressed to inflorescence branches, turbinate to campanulate;

teeth 5–6, erect, apex acute.

Flowers

1–2.5 mm;

perianth white or cream to rose;

tepals: those of outer whorl obovate, 1–2 × 0.9–1.5 mm, those of inner whorl narrowly ovate to oblong, 1.5–4 × 1.2–1.8 mm;

stamens usually included, 1–2 mm.

not attenuate at base, without stipelike base;

perianth white to cream, rose, or reddish brown, glabrous abaxially, densely pubescent and minutely glandular adaxially;

tepals connate proximally 1/4–1/3 their length, dimorphic;

stamens included or slightly exserted;

filaments pilose proximally.

Achenes

1.5–2 mm.

brown, not winged, 3-gonous, glabrous.

Seeds

embryo curved.

2n

= 40.

Eriogonum annuum

Eriogonum subg. Micrantha

Phenology Flowering Apr–Nov.
Habitat Sandy flats, slopes, dunes, and banks, mixed grassland, oak and conifer woodlands
Elevation (0-)100-1900(-2300) m ((0-)300-6200(-7500) ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CO; KS; MT; ND; NE; NM; OK; SD; TX; WY; Mexico (Chihuahua)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
c North America; including n Mexico
Discussion

Eriogonum annuum is widespread and common to locally abundant or even weedy on the Great Plains of the central United States and extreme north-central Mexico. It was collected in Sherburne County, Minnesota, in 1982, but that population did not persist. The species was recently found as an introduction at Sandy Hook in Monmouth County, New Jersey (Snyder & McArthur s.n., NY), but its fate there remains to be determined. Unfortunately, this weedy species recently has been introduced into northern Arizona as a roadside wild flower. C. L. Perez et al. (1998) have demonstrated that the seed bank can be rich in seeds of this species, but germination rates are low.

The Lakota people traditionally used the annual wild buckwheat as an aid in the treatment of sore mouths in children, seemingly in association with teething (D. J. Rogers 1980). Leaves were used to stain buffalo and deer hides by the Kiowa (P. A. Vestal and R. E. Schultes 1939). Vestal (1952) stated that the species was considered a “life medicine” by the Navajo (Diné) people; it was used also for protection against witches. It is likely that E. annuum was obtained by the Navajo through trade, but it might have been grown locally in historic times where the species recently has been reintroduced.

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

Species 2 (2 in the flora).

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

Key
1. Outer tepals obovate, 0.9-1.5 mm wide; involucres 2.5-4 mm, tomentose to floccose abaxially, glabrous adaxially; plants grayish
E. annuum
1. Outer tepals oblong-cordate, 1.5-2 mm wide; involucres 2-2.5 mm, usually tomentose on both surfaces; plants reddish
E. multiflorum
Source FNA vol. 5. FNA vol. 5, p. 325.
Parent taxa Polygonaceae > subfam. Eriogonoideae > Eriogonum > subg. Micrantha Polygonaceae > subfam. Eriogonoideae > Eriogonum
Sibling taxa
E. abertianum, E. acaule, E. alatum, E. aliquantum, E. allenii, E. alpinum, E. ammophilum, E. ampullaceum, E. androsaceum, E. anemophilum, E. angulosum, 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
Subordinate taxa
E. annuum, E. multiflorum
Synonyms E. annuum subsp. cymosum, E. annuum subsp. hitchcockii E. section Micrantha
Name authority Nuttall: Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n. s. 5: 164. (1835) (Bentham) Reveal: in J. E. Gunckel, Curr. Topics Pl. Sci., 237. (1969)
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