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 Max Licher @http://swbiodiversity.org |  Max Licher @http://swbiodiversity.org |  Max Licher @http://swbiodiversity.org | | | |
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Origin:
Native
Life Cycle:
Annual
General Desc:
Plant produces a thin, multi-branched stem which curves in on itself to form a rounded, tangled mass resembling a bird nest, giving it the common name, birdnest buckwheat.
Identification notes: Stems usually spreading; leaves basal; leaf blades rounded to heart-shaped, very hairy; sepals and petals pale yellow or yellow, rarely creamy white, turn red, outer broadly fan-shaped, stamens not protruding; flowers along diffused stems.
Height:
2 to 8 inches
Habitat Description: Sandy to gravelly washes, flats, and slopes, saltbush, greasewood, creosote bush, blackbrush, and sagebrush communities, pinyon and/or juniper woodlands.
Plant Communities:
Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Montane Conifer Forest
Elevation: 3000 - 8800 feet
Color:
Pale yellow, yellow, become red
Shape:
Regular in round clusters
Tubular:
N
Flowering Period:
May - Oct
Description:
Tiny, 1/16 to 1/8 inch clusters of flowers hang at nodes along thin branches of the stem; petals pale yellow or yellow, rarely creamy white, becoming red, without hairs, tepals (petals and sepals) of outer whorl broadly fan-shaped, inner pointed at base.
Leaf Color:
Whitish, greenish
Leaf Type:
Simple
Leaf Shape:
Round or oval
Leaf Margin:
Toothed
Leaf Attachment:
Basal
Leaves Clasp:
N
Hairs:
Leaves and stems
Spines:
N
Leaf Description:
Stems mostly erect and vertical; covered with long hairs or woolly tufts to 1 inch long; leaves basal; blade rounded to heart-shaped, to 3/4 inch in width and length; dense white hairs on leaf bottom, hairy and occasionally greenish on top.
Fruit Color: Light brown
Fruit Type: Achene
Fruit Notes: Achenes light brown, triangular, about 1/16 inch long.
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