Eriogonum tiehmii

Eriogonum tiehmii, known as Tiehm's buckwheat, is a species of flowering plant endemic to the Silver Peak Range of Esmeralda County, Nevada in the United States.[2][1] Its only known population is at high risk of destruction due to mining activities.[1]

Eriogonum tiehmii

Critically Imperiled  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Polygonaceae
Genus: Eriogonum
Species:
E. tiehmii
Binomial name
Eriogonum tiehmii
Reveal

Taxonomy

It was first formally named by American botanist James L. Reveal in 1985 in The Great Basin Naturalist.[3][4] Reveal named the plant for Arnold "Jerry" Tiehm who first collected the species in 1983.[3]

Description

Eriogonum tiehmii is a small, perennial herbaceous plant, growing about 30 cm (12 in) across and up to 16 cm (6 in) tall with blue-grey leaves. The leaves are 1 to 2 cm (0.4 to 0.8 in) long and 5 to 8 mm (0.2 to 0.3 in) across with white or grey hairs on both surfaces, sometimes losing the hairs on the upper surface as it ages.[3]

Conservation status

Tiehm's buckwheat is considered critically imperiled ("at very high risk of extinction or elimination") due to its small population and threat from mining activities. Mining exploration has increased the prevalence of invasive species in its habitat. As of 2020, current mining plans are expected to destroy approximately 50–70% of the known population.[1][5]

gollark: Also, they will
gollark: In two days, I Mean.
gollark: Trade it for several new release hatchlings!
gollark: Don't do it!
gollark: Of course it's laggy, 200 people are refreshing every less-than-a-second.

References
  1. "Eriogonum tiehmii". explorer.natureserve.org. NatureServe. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  2. Reveal, James L. (2005). "Eriogonum tiehmii". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). 5. New York and Oxford. Retrieved 8 July 2020 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  3. Reveal, James L. (1985). "New Nevada entities and combinations in Eriogonum (Polygonaceae)". The Great Basin Naturalist. 45 (2).
  4. "Eriogonum tiehmii Reveal". ipni.org. International Plant Names Index. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  5. Ian Morse: Rare plant may prevent the first lithium quarry in the US from opening. On: NewScientist, 14 August 2020
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