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thyme buckwheat, thyme wild buckwheat, thyme-leaf buckwheat, thyme-leaf wild buckwheat

slender-leaf wild buckwheat, slenderleaf buckwheat

Habit Subshrubs, spreading, polygamodioecious, 0.5–2(–3) × 1–3(–4) dm, tomentose to sericeous. 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

caudex spreading;

aerial flowering stems erect, slender, solid, not fistulose, arising at nodes of caudex branches and at distal nodes of short, nonflowering aerial branches, (0.1–)0.3–0.8(–1.2) dm, tomentose to sericeous, with a whorl of 6–10(–12), leaflike bracts ca. midlength, these similar to leaf blades, 0.3–0.8(–1) × 0.1–0.2 cm.

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

in compact basal rosettes, fasciculate, and sheathing up stems;

petiole 0.05–0.2 cm;

blade linear to narrowly spatulate, (0.2–)0.3–1(–1.5) × 0.1–0.2(–0.3) cm, densely white-tomentose abaxially, silky-villous or sericeous adaxially, margins entire, inrolled to tightly revolute.

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

capitate, 0.8–2 cm wide;

branches absent;

bracts absent immediately below involucre.

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 or erect, 0.05–0.2 cm, glabrous.

Involucres

1 per node, turbinate, 3–5 × 2.5–4 mm, villous to sericeous;

teeth 6–8, erect, 0.5–1 mm.

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

teeth 5, erect, 0.3–0.7 mm.

Flowers

4–10 mm, including 0.5–1 mm stipelike base;

perianth white to pale yellow or yellow, becoming pink to rose, villous abaxially;

tepals monomorphic, obovate;

stamens included to slightly exserted, 2–4 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

light brown, 2–2.5 mm, glabrous except for densely pubescent beak.

brown, (2.5–)3.5–4 mm, glabrous.

2n

= 40.

Eriogonum thymoides

Eriogonum leptophyllum

Phenology Flowering Apr–Jul. Flowering Jul–Nov.
Habitat Sandy to gravelly, often volcanic flats, slopes, and outcrops, mixed grassland and sagebrush communities, montane conifer woodlands Clayey flats, slopes, and outcrops, mixed grassland and sagebrush communities, pinyon-juniper woodlands
Elevation (200-)600-1700 m ((700-)2000-5600 ft) 1500-2300 m (4900-7500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
ID; OR; WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CO; NM; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Eriogonum thymoides is an exquisite species concentrated in three regions of the Pacific Northwest. The first is along the eastern edge of the Cascade Range from near Wenatchee, Washington (Adams, Benton, Chelan, Douglas, Franklin, Grant, Kittitas, Klickitat, Lincoln, and Yakima counties), to near the Dalles in extreme north-central Oregon (Union County). The second is from Baker and northern Malheur counties, Oregon, to Adams, Canyon, and Washington counties, Idaho. A third series of populations is in the Mount Bennett Hills area of Gooding County, Idaho, and just over the borders in Blaine, Camas, Elmore, and Lincoln counties. Staminate plants tend to have yellow flowers that quickly fade after pollen release. Pistillate plants tend to have white to pale yellow flowers that persist and greatly elongate as the achene matures.

(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. 360. FNA vol. 5, p. 251.
Parent taxa Polygonaceae > subfam. Eriogonoideae > Eriogonum > subg. Oligogonum 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. 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. 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. 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. sphaerocephalum subsp. minimum, E. thymoides subsp. congestum E. effusum var. leptophyllum
Name authority Bentham: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 14: 9. (1856) (Torrey) Wooton & Standley: Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 16: 118. (1913)
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