Eriogonum deserticola
Encyclopedia
Eriogonum deserticola is a species of wild buckwheat
known by the common name Colorado Desert buckwheat. It is native to the Sonoran Desert
of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, including parts of the Colorado Desert
near the Salton Sea
. It is a plant of the desert sand dunes
. It anchors itself in the blowing, shifting sand with a spreading underground caudex
which may be several meters long, becoming exposed and gnarled as the sand blows away. This is an intricately branched shrub
growing up to 1.5 meters tall and spreading to three meters or more in width with thin, gray-green stems coated in woolly white fibers. There are small oval-shaped leaves along the stem branches, but they are sometimes scoured off by the sand-laden winds. The stem is lined sparsely with small inflorescence
s bearing a few hairy yellow flowers each under five millimeters wide.
This shrub is a host to the parasitic plant
known as sand food (Pholisma sonorae). It is also host to the endemic jewel beetle Prasinalia imperialis.
Eriogonum
Eriogonum is the scientific name for a genus of flowering plants, in the family Polygonaceae. The genus is found in North America and is known as wild buckwheat. This is a highly species-rich genus, and indications are that active speciation is continuing...
known by the common name Colorado Desert buckwheat. It is native to the Sonoran Desert
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert which straddles part of the United States-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. states of Arizona and California and the northwest Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is one of the largest and hottest...
of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, including parts of the Colorado Desert
Colorado Desert
California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert, which extends across southwest North America. The Colorado Desert region encompasses approximately , reaching from the Mexican border in the south to the higher-elevation Mojave Desert in the north and from the Colorado River in...
near the Salton Sea
Salton Sea
The Salton Sea is a shallow, saline, endorheic rift lake located directly on the San Andreas Fault, predominantly in California's Imperial Valley. The lake occupies the lowest elevations of the Salton Sink in the Colorado Desert of Imperial and Riverside counties in Southern California. Like Death...
. It is a plant of the desert sand dunes
Dune
In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by wind. Dunes occur in different forms and sizes, formed by interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind...
. It anchors itself in the blowing, shifting sand with a spreading underground caudex
Caudex
A caudex is a form of stem morphology appearing as a thickened, short, perennial stem that is either underground or near ground level . It may be swollen for the purpose of water storage, especially in xerophytes...
which may be several meters long, becoming exposed and gnarled as the sand blows away. This is an intricately branched shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
growing up to 1.5 meters tall and spreading to three meters or more in width with thin, gray-green stems coated in woolly white fibers. There are small oval-shaped leaves along the stem branches, but they are sometimes scoured off by the sand-laden winds. The stem is lined sparsely with small inflorescence
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. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
s bearing a few hairy yellow flowers each under five millimeters wide.
This shrub is a host to the parasitic plant
Parasitic plant
A parasitic plant is one that derives some or all of its sustenance from another plant. About 4,100 species in approximately 19 families of flowering plants are known. Parasitic plants have a modified root, the haustorium, that penetrates the host plant and connects to the xylem, phloem, or...
known as sand food (Pholisma sonorae). It is also host to the endemic jewel beetle Prasinalia imperialis.