''Eriogonum callistum'' is a rare species of wild buckwheat, known by the common name Tehachapi buckwheat.

Description

''Eriogonum callistum'' is a perennial herb forming a mat of woolly whitish green herbage on a woody base measuring up to 35 centimeters tall and up to 1 m (3 ft.) 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 ...

and branching caudex. It is covered in rosettes of leaves each up to 5 centimeters long by 2 wide. The blades are coated densely in grayish white silky hairs. The

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 ...

arises on an erect stem up to 40 or 45 centimeters tall which is whitish and hairy when new and turns reddish as it ages. The inflorescence itself is a cluster of up to 35 flowers a few centimeters wide. The woolly flowers are pink-tinged when in bud and turn bright white when open. The stamens are tipped with yellow or pink anthers. Within genus ''Eriogonum'' this is the only species in the new section named ''Lanocephala'' in subgenus ''Eucycla''.

Distribution and habitat

The perennial herb 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 ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, found only in the southwestern

Tehachapi Mountains The Tehachapi Mountains (; Kawaiisu: ''Tihachipia'', meaning "hard climb") are a mountain range in the Transverse Ranges system of California in the Western United States. The range extends for approximately in southern Kern County and northwe ...

, in

Kern County Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield. Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county sp ...

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

. There are an estimated 2000 individuals in existence, in several sites on the eastern

Tejon Ranch Tejon Ranch Company (), based in Lebec, California, is one of the largest private landowners in California. The company was incorporated in 1936 to organize the ownership of a large tract of land that was consolidated from four Mexican land gr ...

, between

Castaic Lake Castaic Lake (Chumash: ''Kaštiq'') is a reservoir formed by Castaic Dam on Castaic Creek, in the Sierra Pelona Mountains of northwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, near the town of Castaic. The California Office of Enviro ...

and the

Antelope Valley The Antelope Valley is located in northern Los Angeles County, California, and the southeast portion of Kern County, California, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert. It is situated between the Tehachapi, Sierra Pelona, and t ...

.The Nature Conservancy
/ref>Reveal, J. L

/ref> It is found on the

. It grows in rocky

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

soils in chaparral habitat among manzanitas. The plant was only described to science in 2006.Reveal, J. L. (2006). ''Eriogonum callistum'' (Polygonaceae), a new species from the Tehachapi Mountains of California. ''Sida'' 22 857–861

Conservation

''Eriogonum callistum'' is a Critically Imperiled endemic species in California, and is on the California Native Plant Society ''

Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants of California The ''CNPS Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants of California'' is a botanical online database providing information on rare, threatened, and endangered California native plants. It is sponsored by the California Native Plant Society (CNPS). ...

'', listed as Seriously Endangered in California.CNPS—California Native Plant Society Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants Detail: ''Eriogonum callistum'' (Tehachapi buckwheat)
. accessed 4.16.2015

References

External links

* ttp://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=10575 Calflora Database: ''Eriogonum callistum'' (Tehachapi buckwheat)br>''Eriogonum callistum'' — UC Photos gallery
callistum Endemic flora of California Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of Kern County, California ~ Plants described in 2006 Critically endangered flora of California {{Polygonaceae-stub