Flora of North America species comparison

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Eriogonum heermannii

Eriogonum polycladon

Heerman buckwheat, Heermann's buckwheat, Heermann's wild buckwheat

sorrel buckwheat, sorrel wild buckwheat
Habit Shrubs and subshrubs, spreading to rounded and occasionally erect, not scapose, (0.5–)1–20 × 2–25 dm, glabrous or occasionally floccose, sometimes scabrellous, greenish, infrequently grayish. Herbs, narrowly erect, (0.5–)1–6 dm, tomentose, whitish to grayish.
Stems

spreading or erect, without persistent leaf bases, up to 1/2 height of plant;

caudex stems absent;

aerial flowering stems erect or nearly so, slender to stout, solid, not fistulose, 0.02–0.5 dm, thinly tomentose or glabrous.

aerial flowering stems erect, (0.3–)1–3 dm, tomentose.
Leaves

cauline, 1 per node, quickly deciduous;

petiole 0.1–1.5 cm, floccose or glabrous;

blade linear, oblanceolate or spatulate or elliptic, or oblong, (0.4–)1–2(–4) × 0.1–0.8 cm, tomentose to floccose or glabrous abaxially, floccose to thinly floccose or glabrous adaxially, margins plane.

cauline;

petiole 0.3–1.5 cm;

blade narrowly oblanceolate to broadly elliptic, (0.7–)1–3 × 0.5–1.5 cm, densely white-tomentose and whitish to grayish on both surfaces.
Inflorescences

cymose or racemose, 1–25(–30) × 1–30(–35) cm;

branches dichotomous, sometimes with secondaries suppressed, smooth or angled to ridged and grooved, glabrous or occasionally floccose or scabrous;

bracts 3, scalelike, 0.3–2 mm.

narrowly cymose, distally uniparous due to suppression of secondary branches, open, (5–)10–50 × 10–25 cm;

branches tomentose;

bracts 1.5–3 × 1–2.5 mm.
Peduncles

absent.

absent.
Involucres

1 per node, narrowly turbinate or campanulate, 0.7–3 × 0.7–4 mm, glabrous, infrequently floccose;

teeth 5, erect, 0.3–0.7 mm.

appressed to branches, turbinate, 1.5–2.5 × 1–2 mm, tomentose, rarely glabrous;

teeth 5, erect, 0.4–1 mm.
Flowers

(1.5–)2–4 mm;

perianth white, yellowish white, pink, or reddish, glabrous;

tepals connate proximal 1/4, dimorphic, those of outer whorl obovate to orbiculate, those of inner whorl narrowly lanceolate to oblong;

stamens exserted, 2–5 mm;

filaments pilose proximally.

(1–)1.5–2 mm;

perianth white, becoming pink or red, glabrous;

tepals dimorphic, those of outer whorl broadly fan-shaped, those of inner whorl oblanceolate;

stamens included, 1–1.5 mm;

filaments pilose proximally.
Achenes

light brown to brown, 2–5 mm, glabrous.

dark brown, 3-gonous, 1–1.3 mm.
2n

= 26.

Eriogonum heermannii

Eriogonum polycladon
Phenology Flowering year-round.
Habitat Sandy to gravelly washes, flats, and slopes, saltbush, creosote bush, greasewood, blackbrush, and sagebrush communities, oak, pinyon and/or juniper, and montane conifer woodlands
Elevation (200-)500-2200(-2500) m ((700-)1600-7200(-8200) ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; NV; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; NM; TX; UT; Mexico (Chihuahua, Durango, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 8 (8 in the flora).

As Eriogonum heermannii is here circumscribed, the number of varieties is dramatically decreased from past presentations, with E. apachense reduced to synonymy under a now greatly expanded var. argense. Also included in that variety is the more stoutly branched var. subracemosum. The southern var. heermannii of basically desert ranges and the more northern var. occidentale of the Coast Ranges in California are maintained, but their separation is more traditional than certain. The fragile and bulky nature of many dried, often poorly prepared specimens, and the tendency for leaves to fall away have made varietal identification within E. heermannii difficult.

Eriogonum heermannii varieties are food plants for Ellis’s dotted-blue butterfly (Euphilotes ellisi) and the Mormon metalmark (Apodemia mormo mormo).

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

Eriogonum polycladon is widely distributed from near Needles, San Bernardino County, California (where not found since the 1930s), eastward to western Texas, and from southern Utah throughout much of central and southern Arizona into western and southern New Mexico. It is found also in the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Durango, and Sonora. It can be locally common and occasionally weedy, especially in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Flowering stems and inflorescence branches round or angled, scabrellous or papillate-scabrous; plants often densely branched
→ 2
1. Flowering stems and inflorescence branches round, not angled, usually smooth, glabrous or thinly tomentose; plants sparsely branched
→ 3
2. Flowering stems and inflorescence branches round, usually distinctly scabrellous or infrequently papillate-scabrous; Arizona, se California, Nevada
var. argense
2. Flowering stems and inflorescence branches sharply ridged and deeply grooved, minutely scabrellous; nw Arizona, se California, s Nevada, sw Utah
var. sulcatum
3. Involucres not racemosely arranged on inflorescence branches, or only last 2-3 so disposed; inflorescences diffusely branched, glabrous; Great Basin or northeast edge of Mojave Desert
→ 4
3. Involucres racemosely arranged along inflorescence branches or at least at tips of branches; inflorescences openly branched, glabrous or floccose to thinly tomentose; Mojave and Sonoran deserts
→ 5
4. Inflorescence branches mostly slender, smooth, not ridged, not spinose; inflorescences 3-15(-23) × 5-20 cm; subshrubs or shrubs, 3-7 × 5-12(-15) dm; Great Basin, ec California and Nevada
var. humilius
4. Inflorescence branches stoutish, faintly ridged and grooved, spinose; inflorescences 3-7(-10) × 3-10(-12) cm; shrubs, 1-3 × 1.5-5(-8) dm; Mojave Desert, sw Utah and nw Arizona
var. subspinosum
5. Inflorescence branches thinly tomentose to floccose; s California, s Nevada, nw Arizona
var. floccosum
5. Inflorescence branches glabrous; s Nevada, California
→ 6
6. Involucres racemosely arranged; inflorescence branches whiplike; s Nevada
var. clokeyi
6. Involucres racemosely arranged only distally; inflorescence branches not whiplike; California
→ 7
7. Leaf blades 0.5-1.5 cm, glabrous abaxially; inflorescence branches stout; sc California
var. heermannii
7. Leaf blades 1.5-3(-4) cm, mostly tomentose to floccose abaxially (at least in early anthesis); inflorescence branches slender; sw California
var. occidentale
Source FNA vol. 5, p. 304. FNA vol. 5, p. 428.
Parent taxa Polygonaceae > subfam. Eriogonoideae > Eriogonum > subg. Eucycla Polygonaceae > subfam. Eriogonoideae > Eriogonum > subg. Oregonium
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. 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. 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. 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. 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. heermannii var. argense, E. heermannii var. clokeyi, E. heermannii var. floccosum, E. heermannii var. heermannii, E. heermannii var. humilius, E. heermannii var. occidentale, E. heermannii var. subspinosum, E. heermannii var. sulcatum
Synonyms E. geniculatum E. densum, E. vimineum var. densum, E. vimineum subsp. polycladon
Name authority Durand & Hilgard: in War Department [U.S.], Pacif. Railr. Rep. 5(3): 14. (1857) Bentham: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 14: 16. (1856)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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