Eriogonum umbellatum

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Eriogonum umbellatum
Eriogonum umbellatum var. hypoleium
Secure
Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Polygonaceae
Genus: Eriogonum
Species:
E. umbellatum
Binomial name
Eriogonum umbellatum

Eriogonum umbellatum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name sulphurflower buckwheat, or simply sulphur flower.

Description

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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[1] with stems 10 centimetres (4 in) tall[citation needed] and two to six clusters of flowers, with a whorl of leaves below the stems,[1] or a sprawling shrub approaching 2 metres (6+1⁄2 ft) high and wide.[citation needed] The leaves are usually woolly and low on the plant, and the flowers come in many colors from white to bright yellow to purple.

Varieties

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  • E. u. var. argus - often nearly hairless leaves and bright yellow flowers; limited to the Klamath Mountains
  • E. u. var. dichrocephalum - found throughout much of the western United States
  • E. u. var. furcosum - a low shrub native to the Sierra Nevada
  • E. u. var. glaberrimum - (green buckwheat) - a nearly hairless, white-flowered species
  • E. u. var. humistratum - (Mt. Eddy buckwheat) - a rare northern California endemic
  • E. u. var. juniporinum - (juniper buckwheat) - an uncommon plant of eastern California and western Nevada
  • E. u. var. subalpinum - (sulfur buckwheat) - similar to Eriogonum eriogonum but has wider and more spoon-shaped leaves
  • E. u. var. subaridum - (sulfur buckwheat) - similar to Eriogonum nevadense, found in California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona. Common in Zion National Park where it tends to be shrubby with glabrous leaves at times.[2]
  • E. u. var. torreyanum - (Donner Pass buckwheat) - known from fewer than 10 occurrences near the Donner Pass
  • E. u. var. versicolor - bears pinkish-brown flowers with bright stripes

Distribution and habitat

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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.[1]

Ecology

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It is a popular larval host, feeding the bramble hairstreak, desert green hairstreak, lupine blue, Mormon metalmark, Rocky Mountain dotted blue, Sheridan's hairstreak, Sonoran metalmark, and western green hairstreak.[3] Additionally, goats and domestic sheep feed on the plant.[4]

Cultivation

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The wildflower gardening author Claude A. Barr complemented sulphurflower buckwheat as a "treasure in appearance and in adaptation in my garden."[5] It is valued for its very low water usage for xeriscaping. The cultivar "Kannah Creek", a selection of Eriogonum umbellatum var. aureum, has been introduced to the garden trade by the Plant Select cooperative sponsored by Colorado State University and Denver Botanic Gardens.[6][7] It grows in USDA zones 4–8.[8]

  • E. umbellatum var. dichrocephalum
    E. umbellatum var. dichrocephalum
  • E. umbellatum var. humistratum (habit)
    E. umbellatum var. humistratum (habit)
  • E. umbellatum var. humistratum (flowers)
    E. umbellatum var. humistratum (flowers)
  • E. umbellatum var. hypoleium (habit, William O. Douglas Wilderness)
    E. umbellatum var. hypoleium (habit, William O. Douglas Wilderness)
  • E. umbellatum var. hypoleium (flowers)
    E. umbellatum var. hypoleium (flowers)
  • E. umbellatum var. majus (flowers, Wenatchee Mountains)
    E. umbellatum var. majus (flowers, Wenatchee Mountains)
  • E. umbellatum var. subaridum (flowers, Zion National Park)
    E. umbellatum var. subaridum (flowers, Zion National Park)

References

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  1. ^ a b c Taylor, Ronald J. (1994) [1992]. Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary (rev. ed.). Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Pub. Co. p. 30. ISBN 0-87842-280-3. OCLC 25708726.
  2. ^ Schrage, Laura; Daniel P. MConnell (2018). Zion National Park Wildflowers. UT: Zion National Park Forever Project. pp. 78–79. ISBN 978-0-915630-62-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  3. ^ The Xerces Society (2016), Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects, Timber Press.
  4. ^ Reiner, Ralph E. (1969). Introducing the Flowering Beauty of Glacier National Park and the Majestic High Rockies. Glacier Park, Inc. p. 32.
  5. ^ Barr, Claude A. (1983). Jewels of the plains : wild flowers of the Great Plains grasslands and hills. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. p. 77. ISBN 0-8166-1127-0.
  6. ^ "Kannah Creek Buckwheat". Colorado Springs Utilities Xeriscaping. Colorado Springs Utilities. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  7. ^ "From Grand Mesa, It's Kannah Creek® Buckwheat!". Plant Select. 30 November 1999. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  8. ^ "Eriogonum umbellatum". Plant Finder. Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
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