Eriogonum ursinum var. erubescens

Reveal & J. Knorr

Phytologia 86: 161. 2004.

Common names: Blushing wild buckwheat
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 5. Treatment on page 358.

Plants 1.5–2.5 × (1.5–)2–8(–12) dm. Aerial flowering stems 0.4–2 dm, thinly tomentose to floccose. Leaves: petiole 0.5–1.5 cm; blade elliptic, 0.7–2(–2.2) × 0.4–1(–1.2) cm, densely white-tomentose abaxially, sparsely floccose or glabrous and green adaxially. Inflorescences thinly tomentose; proximal bracts 4–6, lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, 1–2 × 0.25–0.6 cm, distal bracts semileaflike, midway along branch, linear to narrowly lanceolate, 0.7–1 × 0.1–0.25 cm. Involucres turbinate to turbinate-campanulate, 5–8 × 3–4 mm. Flowers 5–7 mm at anthesis, 6.5–9 mm in fruit; perianth cream, rarely yellow, becoming suffused with blush of pinkish red to maroon. Achenes (5–)5.5–8 mm.


Phenology: Flowering Jun–Sep.
Habitat: Gravelly metavolcanic soils in montane chaparral, conifer and mountain mahogany communities
Elevation: 1600-1900 m

Discussion

Variety erubescens is localized and rare, known only from the eastern Scott Bar Mountains west of Yreka in Siskiyou County, and Trinity Mountain, Trinity County. Technically, the three bracts along the “branchlet” terminate a branch, and a peduncle extends from the whorl of bracts to the base of the involucre.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.