James eriogonum (E. jame'sii), known locally as antelope sage, ground 

 chaparral, ground eriogonum, and redroot, ranges from Kansas and Colorado 

 to Arizona, Texas, and south into northern Mexico. Although its base is 

 woody and somewhat branched, it is not so conspicuously cushionlike in ap- 

 pearance as the other two species mentioned immediately below, on account 

 of the spreading stems and the repeatedly and irregularly forked, erect flower 

 stalks with their leafy nodes. The long-stalked, spatula-shaped or oblong, 

 mostly basal leaves are green and sparingly woolly-hairy above and densely 

 gray- woolly-hairy beneath. Probably the most characteristic feature of this 

 species is the repeatedly and irregularly branching (proliferating) habit of the 

 headlike clusters of whitish or pale yellowish flowers which often become some- 

 what pink in age. In general, James eriogonum is almost worthless as forage. 



Cushion eriogonum (E. ovalifo' Hum) , sometimes called ovalleaf eriogonum 

 or silver plant, ranges from British Columbia and Alberta southward to New 

 Mexico, Arizona, and California, and prefers exposed, rather rocky sites on 

 plains and slopes from the sagebrush to the spruce belts. The color of the 

 flowers varies from whitish or yellowish to pink, rose, wine-red, or even pur- 

 plish ; these color differences have been considered by some botanists as deserv- 

 ing varietal, or even specific, rank. The low cushion of leaves from the short, 

 closely branched, woody caudex, and the numerous, rather short and slender 

 scapelike flower stalks with their single, headlike flower clusters, constitute 

 the characteristic growth habit of the species. Although cuehion eriogonum 

 is cropped to some extent by sheep and goats as good winter feed and on 

 some exposed sites is a valuable ground cover, it is generally very sparse. 



Piper eriogonum (E. pi' peri) is a northwestern species, ranging on high 

 open, sunny sites from Washington and Oregon to Montana and northwestern 

 Wyoming. It resembles yellow eriogonum (E. fla'vum) of the Rocky Moun- 

 tains, differing mainly in its taller flower stalks and long-soft-hairy rather 

 than woolly-hairy leaves. The woody, short-branched, cushionlike root crown is 

 covered by long-stalked, erect leaves and numerous, slender flower stalks often 

 8 to 10 inches in height, which give the plant a herbaceous aspect. The green- 

 ish yellow hairy flowers, often tipped with scarlet in age, are borne in an 

 equally five- to eight-rayed headlike umbel, subtended by a whorl of small 

 leaves. Piper eriogonum is practically worthless as forage, and has become 

 conspicuously abundant on certain badly depleted ranges in the Blue Mountains. 



The partly shrubby species are divided more or less roughly into two types : 

 (1) those with short, woody-branched root crown or stem bases that form 

 dense leafy mats from which the erect flower stalks arise, and (2) those with 

 spreading and woody stems, along which, particularly at the ends, are short, 

 woody, upright leafy branches, whence the herbaceous flower stalks are 

 produced. This second group of part shrubs is more important from a range 

 standpoint than the first. Its members are very numerous, widely distributed in 

 the range country, and are of low palatability. 



Wyeth eriogonum (E. heracleoi'des), also called Indian-tobacco, was first 

 collected about a hundred years ago by Nathaniel B. Wyeth, an American 

 traveler and trader. The specific name heradeoides doubtless refers to a 

 fancied resemblance of the large, umbrella-shaped clusters of yellowish flowers 

 to those of the cowparsnip (Heracleum laruitum). Wyeth eriogonum is a 

 much-branched plant, attaining a height of about 20 inches, with spreading, 

 rather woody stems from which upright, more or less herbaceous stalks arise 

 that bear a whorl of leaves near their middle. A rather dense covering of 

 woolly hairs gives it a somewhat grayish appearance. It prefers the dry slopes 

 of the ponderosa pine, aspen, and spruce belts, and is often associated with sage- 

 brush and lanceleaf yellowbrush. Throughout its range, from British Columbia, 

 Montana, and Wyoming to Utah and Nevada, this species is scattered and 

 common, but seldom abundant and has little or no forage value. 



Sulphur eriogonum (E: umbella'tum), a variable species of which numerous 

 varieties have been proposed, has a wide range, extending from Montana, 

 Wyoming, and Colorado west to the Pacific Coast States. It prefers open, dry 

 situations in the valleys and on the mountain sides upward to the subalpine 

 belt, but is seldom abundant. Typically it has showy, sulphur-yellow flowers in 

 several-rayed, umbrella-like flower clusters subtended by a whorl of leaves. 

 The rather bare (scapelike), herbaceous flower stalks arise from a branched, 

 woody base which is tufted with leaves at the nodes. 



Some of the representative shrub species of Eriogonum are treated briefly in 

 connection with the discussion of Wright buckwheatbrush (B75). 



