Eriogonum fasciculatum |
Eriogonum desertorum |
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California buckwheat, California wild buckwheat, eastern Mojave buckwheat, eastern Mojave wild buckwheat |
Great Basin desert buckwheat, Great Basin desert wild buckwheat |
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Habit | Shrubs or subshrubs, compact to spreading or rounded and more or less erect, occasionally decumbent, infrequently scapose, (1–)2–15 × 2–25(–30) dm, tomentose to canescent, floccose, or glabrous. | Herbs, matted, scapose, 0.5–1.2 × 0.7–4 dm, tomentose or floccose, grayish. | ||||||||||||
Stems | sprawling or spreading to erect, often with persistent leaf bases, up to 1/2 or more height of plant; caudex stems absent or matted to spreading; aerial flowering stems erect to spreading, slender, solid, not fistulose, 0.3–2.5(–3) dm, tomentose, canescent, or glabrous. |
spreading, with persistent leaf bases, up to 1/5 height of plant; caudex stems matted; aerial flowering stems scapelike, erect, slender, solid, not fistulose, (0.2–)0.4–1 dm, tomentose or floccose. |
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Leaves | cauline, 1 per node or fasciculate; petiole 0.1–0.3 cm, canescent; blade linear to linear-oblanceolate or oblanceolate, 0.6–1.5(–1.8) × 0.05–0.4(–0.6) cm, white-tomentose or canescent to subglabrous abaxially, tomentose or canescent and grayish, subglabrous, or glabrous and green adaxially, margins often revolute. |
basal, fasciculate in terminal tufts; petiole 0.3–1.5 cm, tomentose to floccose; blade oblanceolate to elliptic or, rarely, ovate, 0.4–2(–2.5) × 0.2–1 cm, densely greenish- or grayish-white-tomentose on both surfaces or densely greenish-white tomentose abaxially, margins plane. |
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Inflorescences | cymose, infrequently cymose-umbellate or capitate, compact to open, occasionally flat-topped, 0.2–20 × 0.2–15 cm; branches dichotomous, infrequently absent, tomentose to canescent or glabrous; bracts usually 3, scalelike, triangular, and 1–3 mm, or leaflike, linear to oblanceolate, and 3–10 × 1–3 mm. |
capitate, 0.7–1.5 cm; branches absent; bracts 3, scalelike, triangular, 1.5–2 mm. |
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Peduncles | absent. |
absent. |
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Involucres | (1–)3–8 per cluster, turbinate to campanulate, 2–4 × 1.5–3 mm, canescent, pubescent, glabrous, or subglabrous; teeth 5, erect, 0.3–1.2 mm. |
4–7(–9) per cluster, turbinate to turbinate-campanulate, 2–3.5 × 2–3.5 mm, weakly rigid, floccose at least on teeth; teeth 5–8, erect. |
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Flowers | 2.5–3 mm; perianth white to pinkish, glabrous or pubescent; tepals connate proximal 1/4, monomorphic, usually elliptic to obovate; stamens exserted, 2.5–5 mm; filaments subglabrous or pubescent proximally. |
2–3.5 mm; perianth yellow, glabrous; tepals connate proximal 1/4–1/3, monomorphic, lanceolate or oblong; stamens exserted, 2–4 mm; filaments glabrous or sparsely pilose proximally. |
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Achenes | light brown to brown, 1.8–2.5 mm, glabrous. |
brown, 2–3.5 mm, glabrous or sometimes with minute bristles on beak. |
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Eriogonum fasciculatum |
Eriogonum desertorum |
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Phenology | Flowering May–Aug. | |||||||||||||
Habitat | Gravelly or silty to clayey flats, slopes, and ridges, often on limestone soils, mixed grassland, saltbush, and sagebrush communities, pinyon-juniper woodlands | |||||||||||||
Elevation | 1500-3000 m (4900-9800 ft) | |||||||||||||
Distribution |
AZ; CA; NV; UT; including nw Mexico
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NV; UT |
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Discussion | Varieties 5 (4 in the flora). Eriogonum fasciculatum is a complex, polyploid series of variants that are generally distinct but often difficult to distinguish morphologically. Variety emphereium Reveal is confined to central Baja California, Mexico. The introduction of Eriogonum fasciculatum as a decorative roadside plant by the California Department of Transportation is resulting in hybrid populations involving E. cinereum. The aggressively weedy and (for Arizona) exotic variety foliosum is rapidly invading the native habitat of var. polifolium. Members of E. fasciculatum are food plants for several butterflies, notably the Bernardino dotted-blue (Euphilotes bernardino), lupine blue (Plebeius lupini), Mormon metalmark (Apodemia mormo), and Behr’s metalmark (A. virgulti). Probably the butterfly most commonly seen with the species is the nut-brown hairstreak (Satyrium saepium), which frequents plants in full flower. Eriogonum fasciculatum is also the most important native source of honey in California. This widespread species was used extensively by Native Americans for a variety of ailments. Its application for pain and headaches (D. P. Barrows 1900; K. Hedges 1986; E. W. Voegelin 1938) was rather common, as was its general use for diarrhea (Hedges; Voegelin). M. L. Zigmond (1981) reported that the Kawaiisu lined their acorn granaries with leaves of var. proliferum to keep out rain—a daunting challenge given the size of the leaves! L. Hinton (1975) reported the use of a decoction of dried flowers and roots to maintain a healthy heart, and M. C. Stevenson (1915) indicated that a powder derived from the roots was used by the Zuñi to treat wounds, whereas a root decoction was taken for colds and hoarseness. B. R. Bocek (1984) reported that the Costanoan Indians of California used a decoction of the plant to treat unspecified urinary problems. F. H. Elmore (1943) reported the use of a decoction of var. proliferum by the Navajo (Diné) people as an anti-witchcraft medicine. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Eriogonum desertorum is a low- to mid-elevation species restricted to central and eastern Elko County, Nevada, and northwestern Box Elder County, Utah. The phase represented by the type is from the valley bottoms and lower foothills, although it extends onto the eastern slope of the East Humboldt Mountains to ca. 2600 m elevation. Such plants tend to have leaf blades that are grayish-tomentose on both surfaces. At higher elevations on isolated desert ranges (Jarbidge, Independent, and Kinsley mountains, where they occur as low as 1950 m) are plants that are smaller in all aspects and tend to have elliptic (rather than oblanceolate to narrowly elliptic) leaf blades; these have been named E. lewisii. Similar plants are in the Grouse Creek Mountains of Utah. As noted above, E. brevicaule var. bannockense occurs in eastern Elko County, where it is widespread and more common than E. desertorum. It is almost always at low elevations in the valley bottoms but can occur on some of the higher, isolated peaks. The leaf blades of var. bannockense are distinctly narrower and mostly longer. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 5, p. 297. | FNA vol. 5, p. 274. | ||||||||||||
Parent taxa | Polygonaceae > subfam. Eriogonoideae > Eriogonum > subg. Eucycla | Polygonaceae > subfam. Eriogonoideae > Eriogonum > subg. Eucycla | ||||||||||||
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Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||||||
Synonyms | E. chrysocephalum subsp. desertorum, E. brevicaule var. desertorum, E. lewisii | |||||||||||||
Name authority | Bentham: Trans. Linn. Soc. London 17: 411. (1836) | (Maguire) R. J. Davis: Fl. Idaho, 246. (1952) | ||||||||||||
Web links |