Eriogonum tiehmii

Eriogonum tiehmii, known as Tiehm's buckwheat, is a species of flowering plant endemic to the Silver Peak Range of Esmeralda County, Nevada in the United States.[2][1] Its only known population is at high risk of destruction due to proposed mining activities by Ioneer,[1] and a significant portion of the population was destroyed in 2020.[3]

Eriogonum tiehmii

Critically Imperiled  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Polygonaceae
Genus: Eriogonum
Species:
E. tiehmii
Binomial name
Eriogonum tiehmii
Reveal

Taxonomy

It was first formally named by American botanist James L. Reveal in 1985 in The Great Basin Naturalist.[4][5] Reveal named the plant for Arnold "Jerry" Tiehm who first collected the species in 1983.[4]

Description

Eriogonum tiehmii is a small, perennial herbaceous plant, growing about 30 cm (12 in) across and up to 16 cm (6 in) tall with blue-grey leaves. The leaves are 1 to 2 cm (0.4 to 0.8 in) long and 5 to 8 mm (0.2 to 0.3 in) across with white or grey hairs on both surfaces, sometimes losing the hairs on the upper surface as it ages.[4]

Conservation status

Tiehm's buckwheat is considered critically imperiled ("at very high risk of extinction or elimination") due to its small population and threat from mining activities. Mining exploration has increased the prevalence of invasive species in its habitat. As of 2020, a planned lithium mine by Ioneer is expected to destroy approximately 50–70% of the known population.[1] There have been efforts by conservation groups to federally protect the species and block mining exploration in its habitat.[6][7]

Between July and September 2020, over 17,000 plants, or over 40% of the population, were wiped out with massive damage to the habitat.[8] Conservation biologists at the University of Nevada, Reno, land management agencies, and Ioneer, theorize that the damage was caused by burrowing rodents, supported by evidence from wildlife surveys and game cameras. However, other groups like the Center for Biological Diversity and Eriogonum researcher Benjamin Grady disagree, and instead theorize that systematic, targeted vandalism was the cause of the losses. [3][9] Subsequent surveys have noted similar damage to storage organs in nearby desert plants, presumably caused by rodents seeking water in an exceptionally dry year.[10] This has prompted calls for increased protection of the plants, rehabilitation of the affected area, and a further block on any exploration in the area.[3]

References
  1. "Eriogonum tiehmii". explorer.natureserve.org. NatureServe. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  2. Reveal, James L. (2005). "Eriogonum tiehmii". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). 5. New York and Oxford. Retrieved 8 July 2020 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  3. "More Than 17,000 Rare Nevada Wildflowers Destroyed". Center for Biological Diversity. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  4. Reveal, James L. (1985). "New Nevada entities and combinations in Eriogonum (Polygonaceae)". The Great Basin Naturalist. 45 (2).
  5. "Eriogonum tiehmii Reveal". ipni.org. International Plant Names Index. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  6. Morse, Ian. "Rare plant may prevent the first lithium quarry in the US from opening". New Scientist. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  7. "Conservation group seeks to protect rare buckwheat near proposed lithium mine". thenevadaindependent.com. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  8. Aridi, Rasha (17 September 2020). "'Unfathomable destruction': thousands of rare wildflowers wiped out in Nevada". the Guardian. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  9. Sonner, Scott (18 September 2020). "Massive damage of rare plants probed at Nevada mine site". The Washington Times. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  10. Boone, Jim. "Rodents Seek Moisture from Sensitive Plants During a Severe Drought Year". Retrieved 2020-10-22.
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