Eriogonum diatomaceum

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Eriogonum diatomaceum
Churchill Narrows buckwheat imported from iNaturalist photo 211870011 on 12 March 2024.jpg
Status TNC G1.svg
Critically Imperiled  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Polygonaceae
Genus: Eriogonum
Species:
E. diatomaceum
Binomial name
Eriogonum diatomaceum
Reveal, J.Reynolds & Picciani

Eriogonum diatomaceum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Churchill Narrows buckwheat. It is endemic to Nevada in the United States, where it is known only from the Pine Nut Mountains in Lyon County. It is limited to the Churchill Narrows near Fort Churchill State Historic Park. [2] This plant was discovered in 1997 and described to science in 2002. [3]

Contents

There is only a single population of the plant, split into about 15 occurrences and containing a total of less than 50,000 individuals. All the plants are within about three square miles on Bureau of Land Management lands. [4]

Description

This perennial herb has spreading stems, sometimes forming a mat up to 25 centimeters wide. It grows from a woody taproot. The leaf blades are oval in shape and coated in grayish woolly fibers. The inflorescence is a headlike cluster of flowers atop a white-woolly flowering stem up to 20 centimeters tall, but usually shorter. The flowers are cream-colored. [5] This plant looks similar to Eriogonum pauciflorum , but it is more closely related to Eriogonum ochrocephalum . [4]

This plant grows on diatomaceous clays. [6] The soil originates in the Coal Valley Formation. [3] Other species in the area include shadscale (Atriplex confertifolia), prince's plume (Stanleya pinnata var. pinnata), Bailey's greasewood (Sarcobates baileyi), budsage (Picrothamnus desertorum), green molly (Kochia americana), horsebrush (Tetradymia glabrata), annual psathyrotes (Psathyrotes annua), flat-top buckwheat (Eriogonum deflexum var. nevadense), and Lemmon's buckwheat (E. lemmonii). [4]

Conservation

Eriogonum diatomaceum is listed as a critically endangered and fully protected species by the State of Nevada. [7] [8] It was a Candidate species for listing on the Endangered Species Act, but the listing was determined as Not Warranted in 2014. [9] A majority of the population is within a Bureau of Land Management proposed Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), but the ACEC has not been finalized as of 2024. [10]

The substrate on which the plant grows is targeted for mining of cat litter and other products. [6] Off-road vehicle use in the area is a threat, [4] with two thirds of occurrences growing near access roads. [6] Livestock grazing is also a threat, as the animals degrade the soil. [6]

References

  1. ↑ "NatureServe Explorer". NatureServe Explorer Eriogonum diatomaceum. NatureServe. 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  2. ↑ Eriogonum diatomaceum. Center for Plant Conservation.
  3. 1 2 Reveal, J. L., et al. (2002). Eriogonum diatomaceum (Polygonaceae: Eriogonoideae), a new species from western Nevada, U.S.A. Novon 12(1) 87-89.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Eriogonum diatomaceum. An Array of Botanical Images by James L. Reveal.
  5. ↑ Eriogonum diatomaceum. Flora of North America.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Eriogonum diatomaceum. The Nature Conservancy.
  7. ↑ Nevada Division of Natural Heritage (April 2025). "NDNH Current Track List". heritage.nv.gov. Retrieved 2025-10-22.
  8. ↑ "NAC: CHAPTER 527 - PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION OF TIMBERED LANDS, TREES AND FLORA". www.leg.state.nv.us. Retrieved 2025-10-22.
  9. ↑ U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (2014-09-24). "12-Month Finding on a Petition To List Eriogonum corymbosum var. nilesii and Eriogonum diatomaceum". www.fws.gov. Retrieved 2025-10-22.
  10. ↑ "Eriogonum diatomaceum". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 2025-10-22.
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