Eriogonum fasciculatum |
Eriogonum pauciflorum |
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California buckwheat, California wild buckwheat, eastern Mojave buckwheat, eastern Mojave wild buckwheat |
few-flower wild buckwheat, fewflower buckwheat, manybranch eriogonum |
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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, loosely matted, usually scapose, 0.5–2 × 0.5–3 dm, tomentose, 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, usually with persistent leaf bases, up to 1/4 height of plant; caudex stems matted; aerial flowering stems scapelike, erect or nearly so, slender, solid, not fistulose, 0.3–2 dm, tomentose. |
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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. |
fasciculate in terminal tufts, sometimes 1 per node and sheathing up stem 1–5 cm; petiole 1–5 cm, tomentose to lanate; blade linear-oblanceolate to oblanceolate or narrowly spatulate to elliptic, 1–4 × 0.1–1 cm, grayish- or whitish-tomentose abaxially, less so to subglabrous (or rarely glabrous) adaxially or white-lanate on both surfaces, 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, subcapitate, or cymose-umbellate, 1–5 × 1–2 cm; branches absent or dichotomous; bracts 2–6, linear to lanceolate, scalelike to semileaflike, 1.5–20 × 1–5 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. |
1 per node or 2–5(–7) per cluster, narrowly turbinate, (3.5–)4–5 × (1.5–)2–3 mm, rigid, floccose to tomentose; teeth 5, erect, 0.5–0.8 mm. |
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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. |
2–2.5 mm; perianth whitish brown to rose, pubescent, rarely glabrous; tepals connate proximal 1/3, monomorphic, oblong; stamens exserted, 2.5–3 mm; filaments pilose proximally. |
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Achenes | light brown to brown, 1.8–2.5 mm, glabrous. |
light brown to brown, 2–2.5 mm, glabrous. |
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Eriogonum fasciculatum |
Eriogonum pauciflorum |
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Phenology | Flowering May–Sep. | |||||||||||||
Habitat | Clay to gravelly flats, washes, and slopes, grassland and sagebrush communities, juniper woodlands | |||||||||||||
Elevation | 600-1800 m (2000-5900 ft) | |||||||||||||
Distribution |
AZ; CA; NV; UT; including nw Mexico
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CO; MT; ND; NE; SD; WY; MB; SK
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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 pauciflorum is the common, matted wild buckwheat on the Great Plains. The species occurs in southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan, northeastern Colorado, Montana, western Nebraska, North Dakota, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Plants from southeastern Wyoming, northeastern Colorado and western Nebraska have somewhat broader leaf blades (spatulate to elliptic rather than linear-oblanceolate to oblanceolate) that are densely tomentose to lanate on both surfaces (rather than loosely tomentose abaxially and less so or glabrous adaxially). Such plants have been distinguished as var. gnaphalodes. This expression would be worthy of a place in the rock garden. A hybrid between var. pauciflorum and E. effusum has been named E. ×nebraskense Rydberg (see 2. E. effusum). The hybrid is known from Weld County, Colorado, Cheyenne, Dawes, Kimball, and Sioux counties, Nebraska, and Converse and Platte counties, Wyoming. (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. 284. | ||||||||||||
Parent taxa | Polygonaceae > subfam. Eriogonoideae > Eriogonum > subg. Eucycla | Polygonaceae > subfam. Eriogonoideae > Eriogonum > subg. Eucycla | ||||||||||||
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Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||||||
Synonyms | E. depauperatum, E. gnaphalodes, E. multiceps, E. pauciflorum var. gnaphalodes | |||||||||||||
Name authority | Bentham: Trans. Linn. Soc. London 17: 411. (1836) | Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 2: 735. (1813) | ||||||||||||
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