Eriogonum robustum
Greene
Altered Andesite Buckwheat
G2ImperiledGlobal Rank
Very high - highThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.142833
Element CodePDPGN08710
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
Endemicendemic to a single state or province
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderPolygonales
FamilyPolygonaceae
GenusEriogonum
SynonymsEriogonum lobbii var. robustum(Greene) M.E. Jones
Other Common Namesgranite buckwheat (EN) Granite Buckwheat (EN)
Concept ReferenceKartesz, J.T. 1999. A synonymized checklist and atlas with biological attributes for the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. First edition. In: Kartesz, J.T., and C.A. Meacham. Synthesis of the North American Flora, Version 1.0. North Carolina Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill, N.C.
Taxonomic CommentsKartesz (1999) recognizes Eriogonum lobbii var. robustum (of Kartesz, 1994) at the species level.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodLegacy Rank calculation - Biotics v1
Review Date2019-06-24
Change Date2019-06-24
Edition Date2019-06-24
Edition AuthorsJ. Morefield (2005), rev. A. Treher (2015), rev. A. Tomaino (2019)
Threat ImpactVery high - high
Range Extent250-1000 square km (about 100-400 square miles)
Number of Occurrences6 - 20
Rank ReasonsEriogonum robustum is known from approximately 14 occurrences limited to the mountains and foothills immediately surrounding the Reno-Sparks-Virginia City urban area. Threatened by ongoing impacts and declines in habitat area and quality due to off-road vehicle use, urban and residential development, and possible fragmentation of pollinator populations.
Range Extent CommentsEriogonum robustum is known only from the Virginia and Carson ranges and on Peavine Mountain in a small area of southern Washoe and western Storey Counties, Nevada in the United States.
Occurrences CommentsA 2014 analysis of available spatial data indicates 14 estimated occurrences separated by 1 km or more (J. Morefield, pers. comm., 2019).
Threat Impact CommentsThreatened by urban and residential development, highway and road construction and maintenance, off-road vehicle use, mineral exploration and extraction, fire suppression activities, and potential impacts to pollinator populations. Many of the known sites are heavily impacted, and permanent habitat losses totaling 51.4 acres (20.8 ha), or about 6% of the historic population area, had been documented by 2000.
Ecology & Habitat
Habitat
Strongly acidic (pH 3.5-4.5) hydrothermally altered andesite soils forming barren slopes with scattered yellow pines. Habitat is dry, shallow, highly acidic (pH 3.3-5.5) gravelly clay soils mainly of the Smallcone Series, derived from weathering of hydrothermal sulfide deposits formed in andesite, or sometimes in rhyolitic or granitoid rocks, forming mostly barren yellowish to orange brown patches on ridges, knolls, and steep slopes on all aspects at 1340-2235 m elevation. On all but the most xeric sites, the habitat supports a sparse, stunted relict woodland of yellow pines (Pinus ponderosa and/or P. jeffreyi) and pinyon pine (P. monophylla), with an equally sparse understory codominated with Arenaria nuttallii fragilis, Ericameria parryi or E. nauseosa, Elymus elymoides, and/or Poa secunda. Other normally mesic-montane conifer taxa, such as white fir, western white pine, and lodgepole pine, are occasionally present.
Terrestrial HabitatsForest/WoodlandWoodland - ConiferSavannaBarrens
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN2
| Province | Rank | Native |
|---|
| Nevada | S2 | Yes |
Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (8)
California (1)
| Area | Forest | Acres |
|---|
| Mystic (CA) | Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest | 836 |
References (7)
- Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2005. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 5. Magnoliophyta: Caryophyllidae: Caryophyllales, Polygonales, and Plumbaginales. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. vii + 656 pp.
- Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
- Kartesz, J.T. 1999. A synonymized checklist and atlas with biological attributes for the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. First edition. In: Kartesz, J.T., and C.A. Meacham. Synthesis of the North American Flora, Version 1.0. North Carolina Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill, N.C.
- Kuyper, K.F., U. Yandell, and R.S. Nowak. 1997. On the taxonomic status of <i>Eriogonum robustum</i> (Polygonaceae), a rare endemic in western Nevada. Great Basin Naturalist 57: 1-10.
- Morefield, J.D. 2000. Current knowledge and conservation status of <i>Eriogonum robustum </i>E. Greene (Polygonaceae), the altered andesite buckwheat. Carson City: Nevada Natural Heritage Program, status report prepared for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Reno, Nevada. 37 pp. [http://heritage.nv.gov/sites/default/files/library/errotext.pdf]
- Morefield, J. D., editor. 2001. Nevada rare plant atlas [with rare plant fact sheets]. Compiled by the Nevada Natural Heritage Program, Carson City, for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. [http://heritage.nv.gov/atlas/atlas.html]
- Mozingo, H.N., and M. Williams. 1980. The threatened and endangered plants of Nevada. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management, Portland, OR. 268 pp.