Eriogonum soredium: taxon details and analytics
- Domain
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Phylum
- Tracheophyta
- Class
- Magnoliopsida
- Order
- Caryophyllales
- Family
- Polygonaceae
- Genus
- Eriogonum
- Species
- Eriogonum soredium
- Scientific Name
- Eriogonum soredium
Summary description from Wikipedia:
Eriogonum soredium
Eriogonum soredium is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Frisco buckwheat. It is endemic to Utah in the United States, where it is known only from Beaver County. There are four populations, all located in the San Francisco Mountains. It is a candidate for federal protection.
This low-growing perennial herb reaches about 4 centimeters in height, forming mounds up to 50 centimeters wide. The woolly rounded or oval leaves are up to 5 millimeters long and 2 millimeters wide. The white or pinkish flowers are up to 3 millimeters wide and are borne in clusters shaped like "drumsticks". The seeds are 2 to 2.5 millimeters wide. Blooming occurs in June through August.
This plant grows only on soils made up of Ordovician limestone in the southern San Francisco Mountains of Utah. There are 845 acres of this substrate in the mountains, but the plant only occupies 52 acres of the available habitat. Its entire range is about 5 square miles. The four known populations are all located on privately owned land. It is not known how many individual plants exist; population estimates vary widely.
Other plants in the local habitat include ephedra (Ephedra sp.), snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae), dwarf mountain-mahogany (Cercocarpus intricatus), and rock goldenrod (Petradoria pumila). It may grow alongside another rare species, Frisco clover (Trifolium friscanum). The habitat is generally pinyon-juniper woodland and sagebrush.
Threats to this rare species include mining, which has occurred in the San Francisco Mountains for a long time. Over 90% of the buckwheat's habitat is within mining claims. The land that supports the plant is littered with tailings and there are many shafts and access roads in the vicinity. These have degraded the habitat. The Horn Silver Mine is located in the area; this was one of the largest sources of silver in America in the nineteenth century. Historical copper mines are located nearby as well. There is little metal mining occurring today, but there is continued interest in precious metals in these mountains. Gravel and limestone quarrying does occur currently, and directly impacts the species' habitat.
Other threats include introduced species of plants such as cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum). This grass increases the frequency of wildfire. The buckwheat is not believed to be tolerant of fire, as fire is infrequent in the pristine habitat in which it evolved. The buckwheat is also threatened by the small size of its populations, making it vulnerable to extirpation, as well as climate change and drought.
...Eriogonum soredium in languages:
- English
- Frisco Buckwheat
Images from inaturalist.org observations:
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Parent Taxon
Sibling Taxa
- Eriogonum acaule
- Eriogonum alexanderae
- Eriogonum alpinum
- Eriogonum ammophilum
- Eriogonum anemophilum
- Eriogonum apricum
- Eriogonum arborescens
- Eriogonum aretioides
- Eriogonum argophyllum
- Eriogonum artificis
- Eriogonum batemanii
- Eriogonum bicolor
- Eriogonum brandegeei
- Eriogonum breedlovei
- Eriogonum brevicaule
- Eriogonum butterworthianum
- Eriogonum callistum
- Eriogonum cedrorum
- Eriogonum chrysops
- Eriogonum ciliatum
- Eriogonum cinereum
- Eriogonum clavellatum
- Eriogonum codium
- Eriogonum coloradense
- Eriogonum contortum
- Eriogonum corymbosum
- Eriogonum crocatum
- Eriogonum cronquistii
- Eriogonum crosbyae
- Eriogonum cusickii
- Eriogonum deserticola
- Eriogonum desertorum
- Eriogonum diatomaceum
- Eriogonum effusum
- Eriogonum elatum
- Eriogonum elongatum
- Eriogonum encelioides
- Eriogonum ephedroides
- Eriogonum eremicum
- Eriogonum ericifolium
- Eriogonum evanidum
- Eriogonum exaltatum
- Eriogonum exilifolium
- Eriogonum fasciculatum
- Eriogonum fastigiatum
- Eriogonum fimbriatum
- Eriogonum giganteum
- Eriogonum gilmanii
- Eriogonum gracilipes
- Eriogonum grande
- Eriogonum gypsophilum
- Eriogonum havardii
- Eriogonum heermannii
- Eriogonum helichrysoides
- Eriogonum henricksonii
- Eriogonum holmgrenii
- Eriogonum hylophilum
- Eriogonum jonesii
- Eriogonum kennedyi
- Eriogonum kingii
- Eriogonum lachnogynum
- Eriogonum lancifolium
- Eriogonum latens
- Eriogonum latifolium
- Eriogonum leptocladon
- Eriogonum leptophyllum
- Eriogonum lewisii
- Eriogonum loganum
- Eriogonum lonchophyllum
- Eriogonum mancum
- Eriogonum mensicola
- Eriogonum microtheca
- Eriogonum mortonianum
- Eriogonum natum
- Eriogonum niveum
- Eriogonum novonudum
- Eriogonum nudum
- Eriogonum nummulare
- Eriogonum ochrocephalum
- Eriogonum orcuttianum
- Eriogonum ostlundii
- Eriogonum ovalifolium
- Eriogonum panamintense
- Eriogonum panguicense
- Eriogonum parvifolium
- Eriogonum pauciflorum
- Eriogonum pelinophilum
- Eriogonum pendulum
- Eriogonum plumatella
- Eriogonum pondii
- Eriogonum prociduum
- Eriogonum pulchrum
- Eriogonum racemosum
- Eriogonum ripleyi
- Eriogonum rosense
- Eriogonum rupinum
- Eriogonum saxatile
- Eriogonum scopulorum
- Eriogonum shockleyi
- Eriogonum smithii
- Eriogonum soliceps
- Eriogonum soredium
- Eriogonum spathulatum
- Eriogonum spectabile
- Eriogonum strictum
- Eriogonum suffruticosum
- Eriogonum terrenatum
- Eriogonum thompsoniae
- Eriogonum thornei
- Eriogonum tiehmii
- Eriogonum tumulosum
- Eriogonum villiflorum
- Eriogonum villosissimum
- Eriogonum viridulum
- Eriogonum viscanum
- Eriogonum wrightii
- Eriogonum zionis
- Eriogonum × duchesnense
- Eriogonum × nebraskense































