Eriogonum panguicense alpestre

Description

Herbs, matted, pulvinate or cespitose, scapose, 0.3-3 - 0.5-2 dm, glabrous, grayish. Stems spreading, usually with persistent leaf bases, up to 1/ 5 height of plant; caudex stems matted; aerial flowering stems scapelike, erect or nearly so, slender, solid, not fistulose, 0.2-2.5(-3) dm, glabrous, tomentose among leaves. Leaves basal, fasciculate in terminal tufts; petiole 0.1-0.8 cm, tomentose or glabrous; blade linear-oblanceolate to elliptic, 0.5-4(-5) - 0.2-1 cm, densely white-tomentose abaxially, floccose to subglabrous and greenish adaxially, margins plane or crenulate. Inflorescences capitate, 0.7-1.5 cm; branches absent; bracts 3, scalelike, triangular, 1-2 mm. Peduncles absent. Involucres 3-7 per cluster, turbinate, (2-)2.5-3 - 1.5-2.5 mm, glabrous; teeth 5, erect, 0.3-0.5 mm. Flowers 2-3 mm; perianth white, glabrous; tepals connate proximal 1/ 1/ 3, monomorphic, obovate; stamens exserted, 2-3 mm; filaments pilose proximally. Achenes light brown, 3-4 mm, glabrous.Varieties 2 (2 in the flora): Utah. Eriogonum panguicense is an isolated species that may be related to the E. batemanii complex, or perhaps to E. lonchophyllum. It is a distinct taxon and worthy of horticultural consideration as a rock garden plant. The large (0.5-0.6 mm), oblong, deep purplish-red anthers against the whitish tepals are striking.