Eriogonum umbellatum var. glaberrimum
Taxon 17: 532. 1968.
Herbs, compact mats, 1–2.5(–3) × 3–8 dm. Aerial flowering stems erect, 1–2 dm, glabrous, without one or more leaflike bracts ca. midlength. Leaves in loose rosettes; blade narrowly elliptic to elliptic, 1–2 × 0.3–1 cm, glabrous and green on both surfaces, margins plane. Inflorescences umbellate; branches 3–8 cm, glabrous, with a whorl of bracts ca. midlength; involucral tubes 4–5 mm, lobes 1–3.5(–4) mm. Flowers 4–7 mm; perianth cream or whitish.
Phenology: Flowering Jul–Sep.
Habitat: Sandy to gravelly slopes, sagebrush communities, aspen and montane conifer woodlands
Elevation: 1600-2300 m
Discussion
Variety glaberrimum is localized and known with certainty from only five locations in the Warner Mountains of Lake County, Oregon, and Modoc County, California. A collection supposedly gathered somewhere in Klamath County, Oregon (Austin & Bruce 1758, DS) in 1897 is discounted. This expression of the species is worthy of introduction into cultivation.
Selected References
None.