''Eriogonum kennedyi'' is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Kennedy's buckwheat.

Description

''E. kennedyi'' is a perennial herb forming a small cushiony mat covered in oval leaves up to about a centimeter long. The greenish leaves are coated in woolly fibers in shades of brown to pink or white. 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 ...

arises on an erect scape, or stem, bearing a head of small flowers which are white to pink with a darker midrib.

Distribution

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 ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, where it can be found in the

Transverse Ranges The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie within Santa B ...

, the

Sierra Nevada foothills :''See Sierra Nevada for general information about the mountain range in the United States.'' The ecology of the Sierra Nevada, located in the U.S. states of California and Nevada, is diverse and complex: the plants and animals are a significant ...

, and in the case of one variety, the high Sierra Nevada and far western

Great Basin The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic basin, endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California ...

. It grows in dry habitat in sand or gravel.

Species

There are five varieties of this species: *''E. k.'' var. ''alpigenum'', the southern alpine buckwheat, grows in

subalpine Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

areas in the San Gabriel and

San Bernardino Mountains The San Bernardino Mountains are a high and rugged mountain range in Southern California in the United States. Situated north and northeast of San Bernardino and spanning two California counties, the range tops out at at San Gorgonio Mountain � ...

, including

San Gorgonio Mountain San Gorgonio Mountain, also known locally as Mount San Gorgonio, or Old Greyback, is the highest peak in Southern California and the Transverse Ranges at . It is in the San Bernardino Mountains, east of the city of San Bernardino and north-nort ...

. *''E. k.'' var. ''austromontanum'', the southern mountain buckwheat, grows in mountain habitat in the Transverse Ranges, including the pebble plain near

Big Bear Big Bear, also known as ( cr, ᒥᐢᑕᐦᐃᒪᐢᑿ; – 17 January 1888Mistahimaskwa
...

. It is a federally listed

endangered subspecies An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

. *''E. k.'' var. ''kennedyi'' is known from the eastern San Bernardino Mountains and from the

Mount Pinos Mount Pinos () ( Samala: Iwɨhɨnmu'') is a mountain located in the Los Padres National Forest on the boundary between Ventura and Kern counties in California. The summit, at , is the highest point in Ventura County. The mountain is the hi ...

area *''E. k.'' var. ''pinocola'', the Kern buckwheat, is known from only three occurrences in the mountains at the southernmost tip of the Sierra Nevada where it meets the Transverse Ranges near Tehachapi. *''E. k.'' var. ''purpusii'' can be found in several mountains and ranges in southern and eastern California. Some varieties serve as foodplants for

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

species such as Bauer's dotted blue (''

Euphilotes baueri ''Euphilotes'' is a genus of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae, which consists of a number of species found in western North America. Some of the species are endangered, such as the Smith's blue, ''Euphilotes enoptes smithi''. Species Liste ...

'') and Ord Mountain metalmark ('' Apodemia mormo dialeuca'').Flora of North America Profile
/ref>

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment of ''Eriogonum kennedyi''The Nature ConservancyUC Photo gallery − ''Eriogonum kennedyi''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5389398 kennedyi Endemic flora of California Flora of the California desert regions Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the Mojave Desert Natural history of the Transverse Ranges ~ ~