Eriogonum diatomaceum

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Eriogonum diatomaceum
Status TNC G1.svg
Critically Imperiled  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
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]

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. [4] This plant looks similar to Eriogonum pauciflorum , but it is more closely related to Eriogonum ochrocephalum . [5]

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). [5]

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 of Bureau of Land Management lands. [5]

This plant is a candidate for federal protection. 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, [5] with two thirds of occurrences growing near access roads. [6] Livestock grazing is also a threat, as the animals degrade the soil. [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>Eriogonum</i> Genus of wild buckwheats

Eriogonum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. The genus is found in North America and is known as wild buckwheat. This is a highly species-rich genus, and indications are that active speciation is continuing. It includes some common wildflowers such as the California buckwheat.

<i>Eriogonum alpinum</i> Species of wild buckwheat

Eriogonum alpinum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Trinity buckwheat.

<i>Eriogonum apricum</i> Species of wild buckwheat

Eriogonum apricum is a rare species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Ione buckwheat. It is endemic to Amador County, California, in the United States.

<i>Eriogonum nervulosum</i> Species of wild buckwheat

Eriogonum nervulosum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Snow Mountain buckwheat. This uncommon plant is endemic to the inland North Coast Ranges of California, where it is known from only a handful of occurrences, most of which are in Lake County. It is named for Snow Mountain, a local peak.

<i>Eriogonum ovalifolium</i> Species of wild buckwheat

Eriogonum ovalifolium is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name cushion buckwheat. It is native to western North America from California to Alberta, where it is a member of many plant communities in varied habitats, including the sagebrush steppe and alpine regions.

<i>Eriogonum umbellatum</i> Species of wild buckwheat

Eriogonum umbellatum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name sulphurflower buckwheat, or simply sulphur flower. It is native to western North America from California to Colorado to central Canada, where it is abundant and found in many habitats, including the sagebrush steppe and alpine areas. It is an extremely variable plant and hard to identify because individuals can look very different from one another. Also, there are many varieties. It may be a perennial herb blooming by summer with stems 10 centimeters tall and two to six clusters of flowers, with a whorl of leaves below the stems, or a sprawling shrub approaching two meters high and wide. The leaves are usually woolly and low on the plant, and the flowers come in many colors from white to bright yellow to purple. Native American groups utilized parts of this plant for a number of medicinal uses.

<i>Eriogonum wrightii</i> Species of wild buckwheat

Eriogonum wrightii is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common names bastardsage and Wright's buckwheat. It is native to the Southwestern United States, California, and northwest Mexico, where it grows in many plant communities, such as chaparral, in rocky habitats from mountains to deserts.

<i>Eriogonum contiguum</i> Species of wild buckwheat

Eriogonum contiguum is an uncommon species of wild buckwheat. It is commonly known as Reveal's buckwheat and annual desert trumpet. It is native to Death Valley in California and adjacent sections of Nevada. It is commonly found in Death Valley National Park and Mojave National Preserve. Eriogonum contiguum grows in sandy to gravelly flats and slopes, or rocky hills, and lower bajadas with Atriplex species. It is an annual herb which produces an erect, spreading stem up to about 30 centimeters high. Leaves are basal, small rounded, and woolly. The many scattered inflorescences are small, compact clusters of tiny hairy yellow flowers. Flowers bloom April to June. It is threatened due to habitat degradation by off road vehicles, competition with exotic plant species, trampling, grazing, and erosion.

<i>Eriogonum eremicola</i> Species of wild buckwheat

Eriogonum eremicola is a rare species of wild buckwheat known by the common names Telescope Peak buckwheat and Wild Rose Canyon buckwheat. It is endemic to Inyo County, California, where it is known from only a few occurrences in the Inyo Mountains and Telescope Peak in Death Valley. It grows in sandy to rocky habitat in the forests and woodlands of these desert mountains. It is an annual herb producing a spreading, glandular, reddish green stem up to about 25 centimeters tall. The rounded, woolly leaves are up to about 2.5 centimeters long and are located at the base of the stem. The scattered inflorescences are small clusters of tiny flowers which are white with reddish stripes, aging to solid red, or sometimes yellow. The plant is under protection in Death Valley National Park.

<i>Eriogonum kennedyi</i> Species of wild buckwheat

Eriogonum kennedyi is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Kennedy's buckwheat.

<i>Eriogonum callistum</i> Species of wild buckwheat

Eriogonum callistum is a rare species of wild buckwheat, known by the common name Tehachapi buckwheat.

Eriogonum evanidum is a rare species of wild buckwheat known by the common name vanishing wild buckwheat. It is native to southern California and Baja California, where it has been collected from widely scattered areas. Most historical occurrences are now extirpated. Some sources suggested that it was probably extinct, but living specimens were rediscovered in 2007.

<i>Eriogonum spectabile</i> Species of wild buckwheat

Eriogonum spectabile is a rare species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Barron's buckwheat. It is endemic to Plumas County, California, where it is known from two occurrences in Lassen National Forest near Chester. There are approximately 250 individuals in existence. It grows in scrubby, forested mountain habitat, only on glaciated andesite substrates. This rare plant was discovered in 1997 and described to science as a new species in 2001.

<i>Eriogonum pelinophilum</i> Species of wild buckwheat

Eriogonum pelinophilum is a rare species of wild buckwheat known by the common name clay-loving wild buckwheat. It is endemic to the state of Colorado in the United States, where it is known from only two counties. The most recent estimates available suggest there are 12 occurrences in existence for a total of about 278,000 individual plants in Delta and Montrose Counties. At least 7 occurrences observed in the past have not been relocated but are not yet believed extirpated. This plant is federally listed as an endangered species of the United States.

<i>Eriogonum douglasii</i> Species of wild buckwheat

Eriogonum douglasii is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Douglas' buckwheat. It is native to the western United States, including the Pacific Northwest and part of the Great Basin.

<i>Eriogonum argophyllum</i> Species of wild buckwheat

Eriogonum argophyllum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common names Sulphur Hot Springs buckwheat, Silver Lake buckwheat, and Ruby Valley buckwheat. It is endemic to Nevada in the United States, where there is only one known population.

Eriogonum codium is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common names basalt desert buckwheat and Umtanum Desert wild buckwheat. It is endemic to Washington in the United States, where it is known only from Hanford Reach National Monument in Benton County. It was discovered in 1995 during an inventory of the biodiversity of the monument and described to science in 1997.

Eriogonum crosbyae is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Crosby's buckwheat. It is native to southcentral Oregon and northwestern Nevada in the United States. Some treatments include plants in Montana and Idaho as members of this species. This plant was first discovered in the Guano Valley in Lake County, Oregon, in 1978 by Bureau of Land Management botanist Virginia Crosby, and it was named for her in 1981.

Eriogonum brandegeei is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name Brandegee's buckwheat. It is endemic to Colorado in the United States, where it occurs in Fremont and Chaffee Counties.

Eriogonum coloradense is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name Colorado buckwheat. It is endemic to Colorado in the United States.

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. Eriogonum diatomaceum. Flora of North America.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Eriogonum diatomaceum. An Array of Botanical Images by James L. Reveal.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Eriogonum diatomaceum. The Nature Conservancy.