''Eriogonum diatomaceum'' is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Churchill Narrows buckwheat. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found elsew ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

in the United States, where it is known only from the

Pine Nut Mountains The Pine Nut Mountains are a north–south mountain range in the Great Basin, in Douglas and Lyon counties of northwestern Nevada, United States. The highest mountain in the range is Mount Siegel at 9,456 ft (2,882 m). Geography The rang ...

in Lyon County. It is limited to the Churchill Narrows near

Fort Churchill State Historic Park Fort Churchill State Historic Park is a state park of Nevada, United States, preserving the remains of a United States Army fort and a waystation on the Pony Express and Central Overland Routes dating back to the 1860s. The site is one end of the ...

.''Eriogonum diatomaceum''.
Center for Plant Conservation. This plant was discovered in 1997 and described to science in 2002.Reveal, J. L., et al. (2002)
''Eriogonum diatomaceum'' (Polygonaceae: Eriogonoideae), a new species from western Nevada, U.S.A.
''Novon'' 12(1) 87-89. This

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

has spreading stems, sometimes forming a mat up to 25 centimeters wide. It grows from a woody

taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproo ...

. The leaf blades are oval in shape and coated in grayish woolly fibers. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is a headlike cluster of flowers atop a white-woolly flowering stem up to 20 centimeters tall, but usually shorter. The flowers are cream-colored.''Eriogonum diatomaceum''.
Flora of North America. This plant looks similar to '' Eriogonum pauciflorum'', but it is more closely related to '' Eriogonum ochrocephalum''. This plant grows on diatomaceous clays.''Eriogonum diatomaceum''.
The Nature Conservancy. The soil originates in the Coal Valley Formation. Other species in the area include

shadscale ''Atriplex confertifolia'', the shadscale or spiny saltbush, is a species of evergreen shrub in the family Amaranthaceae, which is native to the western United States and northern Mexico. Description The height of ''Atriplex confertifolia'' vari ...

(''Atriplex confertifolia''), prince's plume (''Stanleya pinnata'' var. ''pinnata''), Bailey's greasewood (''Sarcobates baileyi''), budsage (''Picrothamnus desertorum''), green molly (''Kochia americana''), horsebrush (''Tetradymia glabrata''), annual psathyrotes (''Psathyrotes annua''), flat-top buckwheat (''Eriogonum deflexum'' var. ''nevadense''), and Lemmon's buckwheat (''E. lemmonii''). There is only a single population of the plant, split into about 15 occurrences and containing a total of less than 50,000 individuals. All the plants are within about three square miles of

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...

lands.''Eriogonum diatomaceum''.
An Array of Botanical Images by James L. Reveal. This plant is a candidate for federal protection. The substrate on which the plant grows is targeted for mining of

cat litter A litter box, also known as a sandbox, cat box, litter tray, cat pan, potty, pot or litter pan, is an indoor feces and urine collection box for cats, as well as rabbits, ferrets, miniature pigs, small dogs, and other pets that instinctively or ...

and other products.

Off-road vehicle An off-road vehicle, sometimes referred to as an overland or adventure vehicle, is considered to be any type of vehicle which is capable of driving on and off paved or gravel surface. It is generally characterized by having large tires with dee ...

use in the area is a threat, with two thirds of occurrences growing near access roads. Livestock grazing is also a threat, as the animals degrade the soil.

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5389368 diatomaceum Flora of Nevada Lyon County, Nevada Plants described in 2002