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short-flower buckwheat, short-flower wild buckwheat, yellow buckwheat

slender-leaf wild buckwheat, slenderleaf buckwheat

Habit Herbs, spreading, (0.5–)1–3 dm, glabrous, greenish. Shrubs or subshrubs, rounded to spreading, not scapose, (0.5–)2–8(–13) × (1–)3–15(–18) dm, thinly pubescent or glabrous and green, yellowish green or infrequently grayish, occasionally papillate.
Stems

aerial flowering stems erect, 0.3–0.8 dm, glabrous.

spreading, without persistent leaf bases, up to 1/3 height of plant;

caudex stems absent or compact;

aerial flowering stems spreading, slender, solid, not fistulose, (0.05–)0.1–0.8 dm, thinly pubescent or glabrous.

Leaves

basal;

petiole 0.5–3 cm, tomentose;

blade ovate to rounded, 0.5–2 × 0.5–2 cm, densely white-tomentose on both surfaces, rarely glabrate and grayish or greenish adaxially.

cauline, 1 per node or fasciculate;

petiole 0.05–0.1 cm, tomentose to floccose or glabrous;

blade linear to linear-oblanceolate, (0.5–)2–6 × (0.03–)0.1–0.3 cm, densely to thinly white-tomentose abaxially, thinly so or glabrous and green adaxially, margins tightly revolute.

Inflorescences

cymose, occasionally distally uniparous due to suppression of secondary branches, usually diffuse, 5–25 × 5–30 cm;

branches glabrous;

bracts 0.5–2 × 0.5–2 mm.

cymose, usually compact, (0.1–)2–12(–15) × (1–)4–15(–30) cm;

branches dichotomous, thinly pubescent or glabrous;

bracts 3, scalelike, triangular, (0.5–)1–4 mm.

Peduncles

absent.

absent or erect, 0.05–0.2 cm, glabrous.

Involucres

somewhat appressed to branches, turbinate, 1–1.2 × 0.4–0.6 mm, glabrous;

teeth 5, erect, 0.2–0.3 mm.

1 per node, narrowly turbinate, 2–4(–4.5) × 1–2 mm, glabrous;

teeth 5, erect, 0.3–0.7 mm.

Flowers

0.6–0.8(–1) mm;

perianth yellow or pale yellowish, rarely whitish, glabrous;

tepals slightly dimorphic, those of outer whorl oblong to oblong-obovate, those of inner whorl narrowly oblong;

stamens included, 0.5–0.8 mm;

filaments pilose proximally.

2.5–4 mm;

perianth white, glabrous;

tepals connate proximal 1/4, essentially monomorphic, oblong to narrowly obovate;

stamens long-exserted, (2–)3–6 mm;

filaments subglabrous or sparsely puberulent proximally.

Achenes

dark brown, 3-gonous, 0.8–1 mm.

brown, (2.5–)3.5–4 mm, glabrous.

2n

= 40.

Eriogonum brachyanthum

Eriogonum leptophyllum

Phenology Flowering Apr–Nov. Flowering Jul–Nov.
Habitat Sandy to gravelly flats, washes, and slopes, saltbush, greasewood, and sagebrush communities, pinyon-juniper and montane conifer woodlands Clayey flats, slopes, and outcrops, mixed grassland and sagebrush communities, pinyon-juniper woodlands
Elevation 600-2300 m (2000-7500 ft) 1500-2300 m (4900-7500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; NV; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CO; NM; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Eriogonum brachyanthum basically is a species of the Mojave Desert, extending northward in eastern California (Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, Mono, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties) and along the Lahontan Trough of Nevada (Churchill, Esmeralda, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Pershing, and Washoe counties) to just north of Denio in Harney County, Oregon. It is common to abundant and even locally weedy in the northern Mojave Desert. Elsewhere it is less common and much more widely scattered. It often is found with other annual wild buckwheats forming dense patches (especially along highways) composed of several (up to seven in places) species, and care must be taken to sort them properly when making herbarium specimens.

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

Eriogonum leptophyllum is found mainly on southern Colorado Plateau in San Juan County, Utah, and adjacent Montezuma County, Colorado, southward into Apache County, Arizona, and in northwestern New Mexico (Bernalillo, Cibola, McKinley, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, San Juan, Santa Fe, and Taos counties). The species is found rarely in eastern Coconino and Navajo counties, Arizona, in the north, and in northern Gila County, Arizona, to the south. It is disjunct to the Bitter Spring Creek area of Capitol Reef National Park in Garfield County, Utah (R. Fleming 199, SJNM). The species, when dwarfed as it sometimes is on wind-swept ridges, resembles E. microthecum var. simpsonii, and has a form and aspect much more typical of that species than of the large, mature plants of E. leptophyllum. Mature plants on the southern edge of the range (as in McKinley County) tend to be grayish rather than the more common yellowish green seen elsewhere.

This species is considered a “life medicine” by the Navajo (Diné) people (C. Arnold, pers. comm.), being used in a variety of ways, including as an analgesic, a gynecological aid, a snake-bite remedy (D. E. Moerman 1986), and in casting spells (Arnold Clifford, pers. comm.). P. A. Vestal (1952) listed similar uses of this species by the Ramah Navajo of northwestern New Mexico, including an infusion of roots for stomach trouble, a decoction of the whole plant for snake bite, and for postpartum pain. The species is cultivated occasionally as a horticultural novelty.

There are two anomalous populations of particular interest. These occurred in the Broomfield area of San Juan County, New Mexico. The specimens are of low, spreading herbs to 0.8 dm with linear-oblong leaf blades 1–2 cm long but only 1–2 mm wide. The inflorescences are cymose but typically with one branch suppressed. A peduncle is present in some, this being up to 3.5 mm and erect; it is always at the basal node of the inflorescence. The involucres are turbinate and long (4–6 mm). A mature achene has not been observed. The plants flowered in late May and early June. Efforts to find such plants again have been unsuccessful. Searches in the late summer and early fall, when they ought to be in fruit, have found only plants that clearly can be assigned to Eriogonum leptophyllum. Generally, the two anomalous collections, both made by J. Mark Porter in the 1980s, resemble that species. Until such odd plants can be found again, and studied in detail, the significance of those populations cannot be ascertained.

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

Source FNA vol. 5, p. 426. FNA vol. 5, p. 251.
Parent taxa Polygonaceae > subfam. Eriogonoideae > Eriogonum > subg. Oregonium Polygonaceae > subfam. Eriogonoideae > Eriogonum > subg. Eucycla
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. 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. 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. 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. 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
Synonyms E. baileyi var. brachyanthum, E. vimineum var. brachyanthum E. effusum var. leptophyllum
Name authority Coville: Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 4: 185. (1893) (Torrey) Wooton & Standley: Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 16: 118. (1913)
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