Irish Hill Buckwheat
See photo info

Sacramento Fish & Wildlife Office

Species Account

IONE & IRISH HILL BUCKWHEATS
(Eriogonum apricum)

CLASSIFICATION: Federal Endangered Species (Federal Register 64:28403 pdf; May 26, 1999)

CRITICAL HABITAT:  None designated.

RECOVERY PLAN: Ione plants (under development)

DESCRIPTION:

The species Eriogonum apricum includes two varieties: Ione buckwheat (Eriogonum apricum var. apricum) and Irish Hill buckwheat (E. apricum var. prostratum). Eriogonum apricum is a perennial herb in the buckwheat family (Polygonaceae). Ione buckwheat is glabrous (smooth, without hairs or glands) and grows upright to 3-8 inches in height. Its leaves are basal, round to oval, and 0.1 to 0.3 inch wide. The calyx (outer whorl of flower parts) is white with reddish midribs. This variety flowers from July to October. 

Irish Hill buckwheat has smaller leaves, prostrate inflorescences (flower clusters) and an earlier flowering time. See Hickman (1993) in General Information about California Plants, below, for a detailed description of both varieties.

DISTRIBUTION:

Eriogonum apricum occurs within openings of Ione chaparral on gravelly red clay soils of the Ione formation. The Ione buckwheat variety is restricted to nine occurrences occupying a total of approximately 10 acres on otherwise barren soils within an area of about 35 square miles in Amador County. One location is managed by the California Department of Fish and Game. The others are mainly on private land. The Bureau of Land Management manages one location.

The two known occurrences of Irish Hill Buckwheat are restricted to private land on Irish Hill and Carbondale Mesa in Amador County. The plants are on less than one acre.

THREATS:

Mining, clearing of vegetation for agriculture and for fire protection, inadequate regulatory mechanisms, habitat fragmentation, increased residential development and erosion variously threaten populations of this plant.

STATE & CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY STATUS:

In August 1981, the California Department of Fish and Game listed Ione buckwheat as endangered and Irish Hill buckwheat as rare. In January 1987, the latter variety was upgraded to endangered. The Bureau of Land Management's Folsom field office has placed Ione buckwheat on its sensitive species list.

The California Native Plant Society has placed both varieties on List 1B (rare or endangered throughout its range).

REFERENCES FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 1999. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Determination of Endangered Status for the Plant Eriogonum apricum (inclusive of vars. apricum and prostratum) (Ione Buckwheat) and Threatened Status for the Plant Arctostaphylos myrtifolia (Ione Manzanita). Portland, Oregon.

General Information about California Plants

Photo credit: Irish Hill Buckwheat © 2001 George W. Hartwell Calphoto ID: 0000 0000 0501 0176

Prepared by Endangered Species Div., Sacramento Fish & Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

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