''Eriogonum pelinophilum'' is a rare species of wild buckwheat known by the common name clay-loving wild 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 ...

to the state of

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

in the United States, where it is known from only two counties.USFWS
''Eriogonum pelinophilum'' Five-year Review.
September 2009. The most recent estimates available suggest there are 12 occurrences in existence for a total of about 278,000 individual plants in

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also ...

and Montrose Counties. At least 7 occurrences observed in the past have not been relocated but are not yet believed

extirpated Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...

. This plant is federally listed as an endangered species of the United States.''Eriogonum pelinophilum''.

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Nat ...

Description

This is a subshrub with branches spreading wider than they grow tall, the plant reaching perhaps 12 centimeters tall by 40 wide. The woody stem bases emerge from a big

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 as they age the bark comes off in strips or plates. The upper branches are hairless or tufted with bits of hair. There are solitary leaves widely spaced on the branches. They are lance-shaped, no more than 1.5 centimeters long, and hairy on the undersides. 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 ...

is a small, dense cyme of flowers 2 or 3 centimeters long and packed with tiny whitish or cream-colored flowers.Reveal, J. L. (1973)
A new subfruticose ''Eriogonum'' (Polygonaceae) from western Colorado.
''Great Basin Naturalist''. 33, 2: 120-122.''Eriogonum pelinophilum''.
Flora of North America.Reveal, J. L

Taxonomic Treatment of Eriogonoideae (Polygonaceae). The flowers are

pollinated Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, a ...

ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...

s, of which 18 species have been observed on the plants.Center for Plant Conservation
/ref>

Taxonomy

Taxonomic history

This plant was first collected in 1958 but proved difficult to relocate in the wild. When it was finally found, ''Eriogonum'' expert

James L. Reveal James Lauritz Reveal (March 29, 1941 – January 9, 2015) was a U.S. botanist best known for his contributions to the genus '' Eriogonum'' and for his work on suprageneric names. His website, at PlantSystematics.org, also presents material on plan ...

examined it in the field, compared it to the similar buckwheat '' Eriogonum contortum'', and named it as a new species in 1973. Recent

genetic analysis Genetic analysis is the overall process of studying and researching in fields of science that involve genetics and molecular biology. There are a number of applications that are developed from this research, and these are also considered parts of ...

confirms that these two species and '' Eriogonum clavellatum'' are indeed similar but are 3 distinct species.

Distribution and habitat

The clay-loving wild buckwheat is known only from the adobe

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

hills and flats near

and

Montrose, Colorado Montrose is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Montrose County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 20,291 at the 2020 census, within a total area of 18.5 square miles. The mai ...

. All the occurrences can be found within an area of land 28.5 miles long by 11.5 miles wide. The substrate is pale whitish clay with an alkaline pH that originated from

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

marine sediment. This is not generally a soil type that is hospitable to most plant life; it is very fine-grained, dense, compacted, rich in calcium carbonate, and prone to shrinking and swelling. The soil does not retain water, the pH is high, it is not easy for

root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the su ...

s to penetrate, and there is little

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as ...

. The clay-loving wild buckwheat grows in areas where some moisture is retained, such as swales, where

snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

persists a bit longer. The habitat supports a few other plants that tolerate the landscape, including mat saltbrush (''Atriplex corrugata'') and black sagebrush (''Artemisia nova''), and another adobe-adapted local endemic, the Adobe Hills beardtongue (''Penstemon retrorsa''). In most areas, the clay-loving buckwheat is the dominant species.

Conservation

This plant has a limited distribution and is found only on a specific substrate. 75% of its habitat is on privately owned land with little protection. Its limited range is threatened by a number of forces. Nearby towns have experienced rapid growth, which has led to an expansion of residential areas with construction of houses,

power line An overhead power line is a structure used in electric power transmission and distribution to transmit electrical energy across large distances. It consists of one or more uninsulated electrical cables (commonly multiples of three for three-p ...

s and other utilities, and roads. The area lies within the Uncompahgre River Valley, which hosts agricultural operations fed by a number of

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

s and

ditch A ditch is a small to moderate divot created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ar ...

es. These have access roads. The construction and maintenance of the canals and roads create disturbance in the habitat and help introduce

invasive plants An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species adv ...

to the area.

Sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sa ...

scooped from the canals is dumped in the plant's habitat. About 40% of the plant's total habitat is affected by these activities.

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 damages the landscape by compacting and eroding soil, creating

dust Dust is made of fine particles of solid matter. On Earth, it generally consists of particles in the atmosphere that come from various sources such as soil lifted by wind (an aeolian process), volcanic eruptions, and pollution. Dust in ho ...

, fragmenting the habitat, and crushing individual plants. The adobe clay substrate is easily broken and eroded because it is bare and contains few plant roots to hold it together. ORV use is currently prohibited in much of the plant's habitat, but if federal protection was removed the threat would be greater.

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5389428 pelinophilum Flora of Colorado Plants described in 1973