Eriogonum niveum Douglas ex Benth.
snow buckwheat
Polygonaceae (Buckwheat family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
snow buckwheat
Polygonaceae (Buckwheat family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
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Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from a thick woody taproot and freely branched crown, sometimes mat-forming; stems ascending to erect, branched, several, 5-20 cm tall/long, greyish-woolly.
Leaves:
Basal leaves egg-shaped to widely lanceolate, grey-hairy, the blades 1.5-6 cm long, the stalks as long as, or longer than, the blades; stem leaves lacking.
Flowers:
Flowers in large, freely-branched clusters; flower stalks with leaflike bracts at the branch bases; involucres conic, densely hairy, 3-4 mm long with 3 (4) short, erect teeth; perianths cream or pink (rarely yellow), 3-4 mm long (to 6 mm long in fruit).
Fruits:
Achenes.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
White
Blooming Period:
Late Summer
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Summer to Fall
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Eriogonum niveum
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
494 | 285 | 1269 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
23 | 0 | 105 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
206 | 5 | 340 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
2 | 0 | 6 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
141 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
BG | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BG(92), IDF(14), MS(1), PP(32) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Dry grasslands, shrublands, rocky slopes and forest openings in the steppe and lower montane zones; locally frequent in SC BC; S to ID and OR.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Eriogonum niveum subsp. decumbens (Benth.) S. Stokes
Eriogonum niveum var. decumbens (Benth.) Torr. & Gray
Eriogonum niveum var. dichotomum (Dougl. ex Benth.) M.E. Jones
Eriogonum strictum var. lachnostegium Benth.