''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
The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...
and part of the
Great Basin.
Description
''Eriogonum douglasii'' forms a mat of hairy herbage around a
caudex. There are rosettes of lance-shaped to oval leaves with blades 0.4 to nearly 2 centimeters long. The leaves are feltlike, covered in woolly hairs. The
inflorescence
In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...
arises on a solid, erect flowering stem up to 15 centimeters tall with a whorl of
bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale.
Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...
s midway up. It is a headlike cluster of cream, yellow, or rose-pink flowers with protruding
stamen
The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...
s. The flower buds are often much redder in outward appearance, even when they open to a yellow or yellow-pink flower.
The very similar
E. thymoides usually has more rolled back leaves that appear nearly cylindrical and with a tightly clasping involucre.
[''Eriogonum douglasii''.]
Flora of North America.[Burke Herbarium Image Collection, http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection/taxon.php?Taxon=Eriogonum douglasii]
Range and Habitat
''Eriogonum douglasii'' is native to Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and northern California in dry areas at moderate elevations. It grows in
grassland
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...
, sagebrush, and open forest habitat, often on thin rocky soils.
Varieties
There are three
varieties of this species, including vars. ''douglasii'' and ''meridionale''.
[ The rare var. ''elkoense'' (Sunflower Flat wild buckwheat) is ]endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to Elko County, Nevada.[var. ''elkoense''.]
Flora of North America.
References
External links
CalPhotos Photo Gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5389370
douglasii
Plants described in 1856
Flora of the Western United States