Common Name: BUCKWHEAT FAMILY Habit: Annual to shrub [tree]. Stem: nodes swollen or not. Leaf: simple, basal or cauline, generally alternate; ocreae present or 0, generally scarious, persistent or not. Inflorescence: flower clusters in axillary to terminal cyme-, panicle-, raceme-, spike-, umbel- or head-like arrangements, entire inflorescence or main inflorescence branches generally subtended by bracts ("inflorescence bracts"); peduncles present or 0; flower clusters in Eriogoneae-Eriogonoideae subtended by involucre of >= 1 free or +- fused, sometimes awn-tipped bracts ("involucre bracts") or, in Polygonoideae and rarely in Eriogonoideae, not (if bracts completely fused, involucre "tubular"); pedicels in Eriogoneae each often subtended by 2 free, transparent, linear bractlets or in Polygonoideae all subtended by 2+ fused, membranous, wide bractlets. Flower: generally bisexual, small, 1--200 per node; perianth parts 2--6, generally in 2 whorls, free or basally fused, generally petal-like, often +- concave adaxially, often darker at midvein, often turning +- red or +- brown in age; stamens [1]3 or 6--9 in 2 whorls; ovary superior, 1-chambered, ovule 1, styles 1--3. Fruit: achenes, included in or exserted from perianth, generally 3-angled, ovoid or elliptic, generally glabrous. Genera In Family: 48 genera, +- 1200 species: worldwide, especially northern temperate; some cultivated for food (Coccoloba, sea-grape; Fagopyrum, Rheum, Rumex) or ornamental (Antigonon, lovechain; Coccoloba; Muehlenbeckia; Persicaria; Polygonum), a few timbered (Coccoloba; Triplaris). Several (Emex; Fallopia; Persicaria; Polygonum; Rumex) are weeds. Note: Treatment of genera in Eriogonoideae based on monographic work of James L. Reveal. Involucre number throughout is number (1--many) per ultimate grouping, at tips of ultimate branches; flower number is per flower cluster or involucre, unless otherwise stated. Fagopyrum esculentum Moench not naturalized, considered an historical waif (or garden weed +- presently), therefore not treated. eFlora Treatment Author: Mihai Costea, except as noted Scientific Editor: Thomas J. Rosatti, Bruce G. Baldwin.
Etymology: (Latin: bi-, twice, tortus, twisted, alluding to contorted rhizomes) eFlora Treatment Author: Mihai Costea
Bistorta bistortoides (Pursh) Small
NATIVE Habit: Perennial herb, rhizomes contorted. Stem: (10)20--70 cm, branches 0. Leaf: generally basal; ocrea cylindric, 10--25(30) mm, brown, margins oblique, glabrous; petiole 10--30(50) mm; blade 4--30 cm, 1--4.8 cm wide, elliptic to lance-oblong or oblanceolate, base tapered to rounded, generally oblique, abaxially hairs 0 or +- white or +- brown, glaucous, adaxially hairs 0, margins entire, tip generally acute to acuminate; cauline leaves 2--4, petioled proximally, sessile distally, gradually reduced upward; blade elliptic or lanceolate to lance-linear. Inflorescence: terminal, spike-like, (10)20--40(50) mm, 10--25 mm wide, short-cylindric to ovoid; peduncle 1--10 cm; pedicel ascending or spreading, 2--10 mm; flowers 1--2. Flower: bisexual; perianth 4--5 mm, not enlarging, bell-shaped, glabrous, white or pale pink, parts 5, fused +- 1/5, oblong, tips obtuse to acute; stamens 5--8, exserted, anthers yellow, elliptic. Fruit: 3--4 mm, 1.2--2 mm wide, obovoid, light- or olive-brown, shiny, smooth. Chromosomes: 2n=24. Ecology: Wet meadows, streambanks, alpine slopes; Elevation: 1500--3000 m. Bioregional Distribution: CA-FP (uncommon in coastal freshwater marshes, 0--20 m, NCo, n CCo), n SNE; Distribution Outside California: to Alaska, eastern North America. Flowering Time: Jul--Sep Synonyms: Polygonum bistortoides Pursh Jepson eFlora Author: Mihai Costea Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange) Previous taxon: Bistorta Next taxon: Centrostegia
Botanical illustration including Bistorta bistortoides
Citation for this treatment: Mihai Costea 2012, Bistorta bistortoides, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=15721, accessed on April 16, 2024.
Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2024, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on April 16, 2024.
Geographic subdivisions for Bistorta bistortoides:
CA-FP (uncommon in coastal freshwater marshes, 0--20 m, NCo, n CCo), n SNE
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(Note: any qualifiers in the taxon distribution description, such as 'northern', 'southern', 'adjacent' etc., are not reflected in the map above, and in some cases indication of a taxon in a subdivision is based on a single collection or author-verified occurence).
Data provided by the participants of the
Consortium of California Herbaria.
MAP LEGEND View all CCH records All markers link to CCH specimen records. The original determination is shown in the popup window.
Blue markers indicate specimens that map to one of the expected Jepson geographic subdivisions (see left map). Purple markers indicate specimens collected from a garden, greenhouse, or other non-wild location.
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CCH collections by month
Duplicates counted once; synonyms included.
Species do not include records of infraspecific taxa, if there are more than 1 infraspecific taxon in CA.
Blue line denotes eFlora flowering time (fruiting time in some monocot genera).
