''Eriogonum nudum'' is a perennial shrub of the
wild buckwheat genus which is known by the common name naked buckwheat or nude buckwheat.
Description
The ''Eriogonum nudum'' plant is a tall, bare, leafless stem, bifurcating into more stems, each topped with rounded clusters of white or pale pink or yellow flowers growing up to six feet from a basal rosette at the ground, where the flat green leaves are located. An striking characteristic is that flower clusters typically occur at the branch as well as the branch tips. The naked stem gives the plant its common name.
Distribution
Naked buckwheat can be found scattered around the west coast of the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. This species has one of the widest ecological distributions of all of the buckwheats. It can be found at wet coastal sea level locales and the coldest, driest elevations of the
Sierra Nevada
The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...
, as well as many areas in between.
The species is not uncommon, but some specific varieties are quite rare.
Butterflies
Nectar-feeding insects such as
butterflies
Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...
are attracted to buckwheat flowers. At least one butterfly subspecies (''Apodemia mormo langei'') uses naked buckwheat as its primary food source.
The complex of varieties and subspecies of naked buckwheat includes:
* ''Eriogonum nudum'' var. ''auriculatum'' - eared naked buckwheat
* ''Eriogonum nudum'' var. ''decurrens'' - Ben Lomond buckwheat
* ''Eriogonum nudum'' var. ''deductum''
* ''Eriogonum nudum'' var. ''indictum'' - protruding buckwheat
* ''Eriogonum nudum'' var. ''murinum'' - mouse buckwheat
* ''Eriogonum nudum'' var. ''nudum''
* ''Eriogonum nudum'' var. ''oblongifolium'' - oblong-leaved buckwheat
* ''Eriogonum nudum'' var. ''paralinum'' - Del Norte buckwheat
* ''Eriogonum nudum'' ssp. ''pauciflorum'' - few-flowered naked buckwheat
* ''Eriogonum nudum'' var. ''psychicola'' - Antioch Dunes buckwheat
* ''Eriogonum nudum'' var. ''pubiflorum'' - hairy-flowered buckwheat
* ''Eriogonum nudum'' var. ''regirivum'' - Kings River buckwheat
* ''Eriogonum nudum'' var. ''scapigerum''
* ''Eriogonum nudum'' var. ''westonii'' - Weston's buckwheat
* ''Eriogonum nudum'' var. ''gramineu''
* ''Eriogonum nudum'' ssp. ''saxicola''
External links
''Eriogonum nudum'' USDA info pageJepson Flora Project entryPhytologia v.89 no.3 (2007) pp 287
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5389420
nudum
Flora of California
Flora of the Northwestern United States
Flora of the Western United States
Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States)
Butterfly food plants
Flora without expected TNC conservation status