Eriogonum jamesii |
Eriogonum jamesii var. undulatum |
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Antelope sage, James' buckwheat, James' wild buckwheat |
James' buckwheat, wavy-margined Antelope sage |
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Habit | Herbs or subshrubs, compact or spreading, matted, 0.5–2.5 × 3–15 dm, tomentose to floccose. | Subshrubs, loosely matted, 5–15 dm wide. | ||||||||
Stems | caudex absent or spreading; aerial flowering stems erect, slender, solid, not fistulose, usually arising directly from a taproot, 0.5–1.5 dm, tomentose to floccose. |
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Aerial flowering stems | tomentose. |
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Leaves | basal, typically not in rosettes; petiole 0.5–6 cm, tomentose to floccose; blade usually narrowly elliptic, 1–3(–3.5) × (0.3–)0.5–1(–1.2) cm, densely tomentose abaxially, thinly tomentose, floccose or glabrous and grayish to greenish adaxially, margins entire, plane or undulate and crisped. |
blades 1–2 × 0.3–0.8(–1) cm, densely whitish- to grayish-tomentose abaxially, thinly tomentose to floccose or glabrous and greenish adaxially, margins undulate, frequently crisped. |
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Inflorescences | umbellate or compound-umbellate, 10–30 × 10–25 cm; branches tomentose to floccose; bracts 3–9, semileaflike at proximal node, 0.5–2 × 0.2–1 cm, often scalelike distally. |
compound-umbellate, branched 2–4 times; bracts usually semileaflike, those of proximal node 0.5–1.5 × 0.2–0.6 cm. |
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Involucres | 1 per node, turbinate, 1.5–7 × 2–5 mm, tomentose to floccose; teeth 5–8, erect, 0.1–0.5 mm. |
1.5–4 × 2–3 mm. |
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Flowers | 3–8 mm, including 0.7–2 mm stipelike base; perianth white to cream, densely pubescent abaxially; tepals dimorphic, those of outer whorl lanceolate to elliptic, 2–5 × 1–3 mm, those of inner whorl lanceolate to fan-shaped, 1.5–6 × 2–4 mm; stamens exserted, 2–4 mm; filaments pilose proximally. |
3–5(–6) mm. |
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Achenes | light brown to brown, 4–5 mm, glabrous except for sparsely pubescent beak. |
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2n | = 40. |
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Eriogonum jamesii |
Eriogonum jamesii var. undulatum |
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Phenology | Flowering Jul–Oct. | |||||||||
Habitat | Sandy to gravelly or rocky, often limestone flats and slopes, mixed grassland, saltbush, creosote bush, and mesquite communities, oak and conifer woodlands | |||||||||
Elevation | 1600-2900 m (5200-9500 ft) | |||||||||
Distribution |
AZ; CO; KS; NM; OK; TX; including Mexico
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AZ; NM; TX; Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas) |
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Discussion | Varieties 3 (3 in the flora). Eriogonum jamesii is a nectar source for the rare Spalding dotted-blue butterfly (Euphilotes spaldingi). Eriogonum jamesii and E. arcuatum (see below) are considered “life medicines” and used ceremonially by Native Americans (C. Arnold, pers. comm.; A. B. Reagan 1929; P. A. Vestal 1952). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Variety undulatum, the southern expression of the species, is common in northern Mexico from Hidalgo and Zacatecas northward; there, the plants (called “yerba chuchaca”) are found at elevations up to 3700 m on the higher volcanic peaks. In the southwestern United States, the variety is common only in the Santa Rita Range in southeastern Arizona (Cochise, Gila, and Santa Cruz counties) and the Chisos Mountains of Brewster County, Texas, although it does occur in Hidalgo County, New Mexico. In the flora area, the plants are smallish subshrubs compared to those seen farther to the south. Variety undulatum is worthy of cultivation. The related Mexican endemic Eriogonum turneri Reveal is a low, compact expression known only from gypsum outcrops in Nuevo León. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 5, p. 367. | FNA vol. 5, p. 368. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | Polygonaceae > subfam. Eriogonoideae > Eriogonum > subg. Oligogonum | Polygonaceae > subfam. Eriogonoideae > Eriogonum > subg. Oligogonum > Eriogonum jamesii | ||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Synonyms | E. undulatum, E. jamesii subsp. undulatum | |||||||||
Name authority | Bentham: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 14: 7. (1856) | (Bentham) S. Stokes ex M. E. Jones: Contr. W. Bot. 11: 8. (1903) | ||||||||
Web links |