''Eriogonum argophyllum'' is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common names Sulphur Hot Springs buckwheat, Silver Lake buckwheat, and Ruby Valley 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 else ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the 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. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

in the United States, where there is only one known population.''Eriogonum argophyllum''.
Center for Plant Conservation.''Eriophyllum argophyllum''.
The Nature Conservancy. This rare plant is a mat-forming

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 wid ...

herb growing just a few centimeters tall. It is covered in gray woolly fibers. It produces erect stems a few centimeters tall topped with rounded

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

s no more than a centimeter wide. The flowers are yellow.''Eriogonum argophyllum''.
Flora of North America. Flowering occurs in June and July, sometimes until September. This plant only grows in the

Ruby Valley {{coord, 40.400, -115.300, display=title Ruby Valley is a large basin located in south-central Elko and northern White Pine counties in the northeastern section of the state of Nevada in the western United States. From Secret Pass it runs south- ...

Elko County, Nevada Elko County is a county in the northeastern corner of Nevada, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,702. Its county seat is Elko. The county was established on March 5, 1869, from Lander County. Elko County is the fourth ...

. It grows in the

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

s associated with

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by c ...

s, and depends on the water for survival. It grows in shallow, sandy soils covered in a crust of minerals left by the evaporation of the water. Associated plants include '' Senecio canus'', '' Ivesia kingii'', ''

Bromus tectorum ''Bromus tectorum'', known as downy brome, drooping brome or cheatgrass, is a winter annual grass native to Europe, southwestern Asia, and northern Africa, but has become invasive in many other areas. It now is present in most of Europe, southe ...

'', '' Centaurium exaltatum'', and ''

Ericameria nauseosa ''Ericameria nauseosa'' (formerly ''Chrysothamnus nauseosus''), commonly known as Chamisa, rubber rabbitbrush, and gray rabbitbrush, is a shrub in the sunflower family (Aster) found in the arid regions of western North America. Two subspeci ...

''.''Eriogonum argophyllum''.
Nevada Natural Heritage Program. As with other species of buckwheats, ''E. argophyllum'' has small, aggregated, open flowers that are readily accessible to being visited by a large assortment of insects. Pollinators include bees in the family

Halictidae Halictidae is the second-largest family of bees (clade Anthophila) with nearly 4,500 species. Halictid species are an extremely diverse group that can vary greatly in appearance. These bees occur all over the world and are found on every continen ...

, wasps in the families Sphecidae and

Pompilidae Wasps in the family Pompilidae are commonly called spider wasps, spider-hunting wasps, or pompilid wasps. The family is cosmopolitan, with some 5,000 species in six subfamilies. Nearly all species are solitary (with the exception of some group-ne ...

, and flies in the families Syrphidae, Stratiomyidae, and

Tachinidae The Tachinidae are a large and variable family of true fly, flies within the insect order Fly, Diptera, with more than 8,200 known species and many more to be discovered. Over 1,300 species have been described in North America alone. Insects in t ...

. Flies and wasps in these families are the most frequent and common pollinator. This species was a candidate for federal protection because its single population was considered threatened by geothermal development,

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animal ...

, and

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 de ...

use. These threats have been eliminated and the plant is no longer a candidate. The species is protected by the state of Nevada. A fence is in place around the population to keep out livestock and vehicles.

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile for ''Eriogonum argophyllum''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5389343

argophyllum ''Argophyllum'' is a genus in the Argophyllaceae family comprising eighteen species of shrubs and small trees. They feature alternate, simple leaves, often silvery white underneath. They appear in Australia and New Caledonia, where several specie ...

Endemic flora of the United States Flora of Nevada Flora of the Great Basin Elko County, Nevada Plants described in 1972 Critically endangered flora of the United States