Eriogonum elongatum, commonly known as longstem buckwheat or wand buckwheat, is a species of wild buckwheat native to coastal southern and Baja California.[1][2][3][4][5]

Eriogonum elongatum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Polygonaceae
Genus: Eriogonum
Species:
E. elongatum
Binomial name
Eriogonum elongatum
Benth. (1844)

Description

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Eriogonum elongatum is a perennial herb reaching a height of 0.6–1.2 meters (2.0–3.9 feet) with cauline leaves approximately 1–3 centimeters (0.39–1.18 inches) long and 0.5–2 centimeters (0.20–0.79 inches) wide. Its leaves and stem are generally tomentose.[4] It has a haploid number of n=34.[4]

Habitat

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Eriogonum elongatum primarily grows in coastal sage scrub, foothill woodland, and chaparral ecosystems in and around the Coast, Transverse, and Peninsular Ranges of California from 60–1,900 metres (200–6,230 feet) above sea level.[1][4] As with many other Eriogonum species, Eriogonum elongatum is a bodenvag species, tolerant of a relatively wide pH range of 5–8.2,[6] and is tolerant of serpentinite soils that are common throughout its range, though it is not endemic to serpentine-derived soils.[7]

Eriogonum elongatum supports several organisms in its habitat, including native bees, parasitic and predatory insects, and butterflies. Hosted butterflies include the Mormon metalmark (Apodemia mormo), Bramble Hairstreak Butterfly (Callophrys perplexa), Comstock's Hairstreak (Callophrys sheridanii comstocki), Bernardino Dotted-Blue (Euphilotes bernardino), Small Dotted-Blue (Philotiella speciosa), Acmon Blue (Plebejus acmon), and Lupine Blue (Plebejus lupini).[6]

 
Herbarium sample of Eriogonum elongatum var. areorivum collected in Baja California.

Varieties

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Eriogonum elongatum has three described varieties:[8]

  • Eriogonum elongatum var. areorivum
  • Eriogonum elongatum var. elongatum
  • Eriogonum elongatum var. vollmeri

References

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  1. ^ a b "Eriogonum elongatum Calflora". www.calflora.org. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  2. ^ "Longstem Buckwheat, Eriogonum elongatum". calscape.org. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  3. ^ "USDA Plants Database". plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  4. ^ a b c d "Eriogonum elongatum var. elongatum". ucjeps.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  5. ^ "Plant of the Month Page". Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Plant Characteristics and Associations - Calflora". www.calflora.org. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  7. ^ "Serpentinite Communities and Communities of Rock Outcrops". polyland.calpoly.edu. Retrieved 2022-09-16.
  8. ^ "SEINet Portal Network - Eriogonum elongatum". swbiodiversity.org. Retrieved 2022-09-19.