Eriogonum ovalifolium var. ochroleucum

(Small ex Rydberg) M. Peck

Man. Higher Pl. Oregon, 256. 1941.

Common names: Long-stemmed cushion wild buckwheat
Endemic
Basionym: Eriogonum ochroleucum Small ex Rydberg Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 1: 123. 1900
Synonyms: Eriogonum ovalifolium var. macropodum (Gandoger) Reveal Eriogonum ovalifolium subsp. ochroleucum (Small ex Rydberg) S. Stokes
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 5. Treatment on page 321. Mentioned on page 320, 322.

Plants 2.5–4 dm wide. Leaf blades usually oblanceolate to narrowly elliptic, 0.5–3 cm, tomentose, margins not brownish. Scapes erect, (15–)20–30(–40) cm, thinly tomentose. Inflorescences capitate, 1–2.5 cm wide; branches absent. Involucres 5–12 per cluster, 4–5 mm. Flowers 4–5 mm; perianth white.


Phenology: Flowering Jun–Aug.
Habitat: Sandy to gravelly flats and slopes, mixed grassland and sagebrush communities, juniper and montane conifer woodlands
Elevation: 900-2600(-3100) m

Discussion

Variety ochroleucrum is restricted to the western edge of the Great Plains as they interface with the eastern slope of the northern Rocky Mountains. The long scape atop a short-leafed mat is distinctive in the field. High-elevation populations occur in Park County, Wyoming; these can resemble var. depressum. In western Montana, great care must be taken to distinguish between early-flowering specimens of this variety and var. pansum. The involucres of the latter are distinctly longer and narrower, although the tight cluster of involucres often obscures the short branches of the umbellate inflorescence typical of var. pansum.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
James L. Reveal +
(Small ex Rydberg) M. Peck +
Eriogonum ochroleucum +
Long-stemmed cushion wild buckwheat +
Mont. +  and Wyo. +
900-2600(-3100) m +
Sandy to gravelly flats and slopes, mixed grassland and sagebrush communities, juniper and montane conifer woodlands +
Flowering Jun–Aug. +
Man. Higher Pl. Oregon, +
Eriogonum ovalifolium var. macropodum +  and Eriogonum ovalifolium subsp. ochroleucum +
Eriogonum ovalifolium var. ochroleucum +
Eriogonum ovalifolium +
variety +