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bear buckwheat, Bear Valley buckwheat, Bear Valley wild buckwheat

dairyflower buckwheat, gray buckwheat, Gray's wild buckwheat

Habit Herbs, spreading, matted, synoecious, 0.5–4 × (1.5–)2–8(–12), thinly tomen-tose to floccose or glabrate. Herbs, matted, not scapose, 0.01–0.05 × 0.1–0.6 dm, villous to silky-tomentose, grayish.
Stems

caudex spreading;

aerial flowering stems erect, slender, solid, not fistulose, arising at nodes of caudex branches and at distal nodes of short, non-flowering aerial branches, 0.4–4 dm, thinly tomentose to floccose or glabrate.

matted, with persistent leaf bases, up to 1/8 height of plant;

caudex stems matted;

aerial flowering stems spreading to prostrate, slender, solid, not fistulose, (0.05–)0.15–0.5(–0.8) dm, villous to silky-tomentose.

Leaves

in rather compact basal rosettes;

petiole 0.1–1.5 cm, tomentose;

blade elliptic, 0.7–2(–2.2) × 0.4–1(–1.2) cm, or ovate, 0.8–1.4(–2.5) × 0.5–1.2(–2) cm, densely white- or rufous-tomentose abaxially, thinly tomentose, sparsely floccose, or glabrous and greenish adaxially, margins slightly wavy.

basal, fasciculate in terminal tufts;

petiole 0.05–0.1(–1.5) cm, silky-tomentose;

blade narrowly elliptic, 0.3–1 × 0.1–0.2(–0.3) cm, villous to silky-tomentose, margins plane.

Inflorescences

compound-umbellate, 1–3(–6) × 1–5 cm, thinly tomentose to glabrate;

bracts: proximal 3–8, lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, 0.5–2 × 0.25–1 cm, distal 3, semileaflike, midway along branch, linear to narrowly lanceolate, 0.7–1 × 0.1–0.25 cm, or ± scalelike below involucre, 1–5 mm.

subcapitate or cymose-umbellate, 0.3–0.9 × 0.5–1.2(–2) cm;

branches dichotomous, villous to silky-tomentose;

bracts 4–8, semileaflike, linear-lanceolate to lanceolate, 2–6(–8) × 0.3–0.7(–1) mm.

Peduncles

absent or erect, slender, 0.05–0.15 cm, villous to silky-tomentose.

Involucres

1 per node, turbinate to turbinate-campanulate, 3.5–8 × 2.5–4 mm, villous;

teeth 5–8, erect, 0.5–2 mm.

1 per node, campanulate, (3.5–)4–5 × (3.5–)4–5 mm, rigid, tomentose;

teeth 6–8(–13), spreading, 2–3 mm.

Flowers

5–7 mm at anthesis, 6.5–9 mm in fruit, including 0.5–0.8 mm stipelike base, with perianth cream or rarely yellow, suffused with blush of pinkish red to maroon, glabrous, or flowers 4–6 mm, including 1–1.3 mm stipelike base, with perianth pale yellow or rarely yellow, not suffused with blush of color glabrous;

tepals slightly dimorphic or monomorphic, broadly ovate or obovate;

stamens exserted, 3–5 mm;

filaments pilose proximally.

3–4.5 mm;

perianth white to rose, pilose;

tepals connate proximal 1/4, monomorphic, oblong to spatulate;

stamens exserted, 3–4 mm;

filaments glabrous proximally.

Achenes

light brown, (5–)5.5–8 mm or 3–3.5 mm, glabrous except for sparsely pubescent beak.

light brown, 2.5–3 mm, glabrous.

Eriogonum ursinum

Eriogonum villiflorum

Phenology Flowering Apr–Jul.
Habitat Gravelly to clayey flats and slopes, sagebrush communities, pinyon-juniper woodlands
Elevation 1500-2400 m (4900-7900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
NV; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

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

Eriogonum villiflorum is probably more common than now documented, the plants being inconspicuous and easily overlooked. It is known from Eureka, Lincoln, northeastern Nye, and White Pine counties in eastern Nevada, and from Beaver, Iron, Juab, Kane, Millard, Sanpete, and Tooele counties in western Utah. The Kane County type location is questionable, as it is well outside the known range of the species today. The sprawling flowering stems with large clusters of involucres and flowers are distinctive. The species is occasionally encountered in cultivation as a rock-garden plant.

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

Key
1. Flowers 5-9 mm, perianth cream, rarely yellow; achenes (5-)5.5-8 mm; North Coast Ranges, Siskiyou and Trinity counties
var. erubescens
1. Flowers 4-6 mm, perianth pale yellow or rarely yellow; achenes 3-3.5 mm; n Sierra Nevada, Lassen and Shasta counties to Nevada, Placer, Plumas, and Sierra counties
var. ursinum
Source FNA vol. 5, p. 358. FNA vol. 5, p. 285.
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. thymoides, E. tiehmii, E. tomentosum, E. trichopes, E. tripodum, E. truncatum, E. tumulosum, E. twisselmannii, E. umbellatum, 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. 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. vimineum, E. viridescens, E. viridulum, E. viscidulum, E. visheri, E. watsonii, E. wetherillii, E. wootonii, E. wrightii, E. zionis
Subordinate taxa
E. ursinum var. erubescens, E. ursinum var. ursinum
Name authority S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 10: 347. (1875) A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 8: 630. (1873)
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