Eriogonum (umbellatum)

Tara Luna USDI NPS - Glacier National Park West Glacier, Montana 59936 (406) 888-7835 http://plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov/azpmc

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Family Scientific Name:	Polygonaceae
Family Common Name:	Buckwheat Family
Scientific Name:	Eriogonum umbellatum Torr.
Common Name:	Sulphur Buckwheat
Species Code:	ERIUMB
Ecotype:	Idaho fescue prairie, Rising Sun, Saint Mary valley, Glacier National Park, Glacier County, Montana, 1520 meters
General Distribution:	E. umbellatum is found from sagebrush deserts to alpine rocky ridges; mostly east of the Cascades, from southern British Columbia to California, east to Montana, Wyoming,Colorado,Utah, and Arizona.
Propagation Goal:	plants
Propagation Method:	seed
ProductType:	Container (plug)
Stock Type:	172 ml conetainers
Time To Grow:	6 Months
Target Specifications:	Stock Type: container seedling<br> Height: 1 cm with multiple leaves <br> Caliper: N/A<br> Root System: Firm plug in container.
Propagule Collection:	Seeds are hand collected in late August when corolla becomes papery. Seeds are tan at maturity. Seeds are collected in paper bags and kept in a well ventilated greenhouse during the drying process and prior to cleaning. Collection Locality: Rising Sun, Glacier National Park, MT.
Propagule Processing:	Seeds are cleaned using an air blower with screens to separate chaff from live seeds. Seed longevity is 5 to 7 years in sealed containers at 3 to 5C with low relative humidity. Seed dormancy is classified as physiological dormancy. Seeds per kilogram: 480,000/kg % Purity: 100% % Germination: 89%
Pre-Planting Treatments:	Seeds are imbibed in water for 10 minutes prior to a 60 to 90 day cold, moist stratification. Seeds are placed in fine mesh bags and buried in peat moss in ventilated containers under refrigeration at 1 to 3C. Many seeds had radicle emergence after 60 days in cold, moist stratification and were planted as germinants.
Growing Area Preparation/ Annual Practices for Perennial Crops:	Greenhouse and outdoor nursery. Sowing Method: Planting Germinants. Seeds are lightly covered with medium. Container Type and Volume: 160 ml (7 cu. inch) Ray-leach conetainers. Medium: 6:1:1 milled sphagnum peat, perlite, vermiculite.
Establishment Phase:	Germinants are lightly covered with perlite and thoroughly watered. Greenhouse temperatures are maintained at 21 to 25C during the day for 12 hours and 16 to 18C during the night. Germination is non-uniform and continues over a 3 week period. Cotyledons emerge 10 days after sowing. True leaves appear 3 weeks after sowing. Seedlings are irrigated only when the medium is dry on the surface during this stage.
Length of Establishment Phase:	6 weeks
Active Growth Phase:	Seedlings produce multiple leaves and stolons with plantlets 8 weeks after sowing. Seedlings are irrigated only when medium becomes dry. Seedlings must fry down between irrigations. Seedlings are fertilized twice weekly with 20-10-20 liquid NPK at 100 ppm duringthis stage. Plants are moved from the greenhouse to the outdoor nursery 12 weeks after sowing. Plants are fully root tight 18 weeks after sowing.
Length of Active Growth Phase:	12 weeks
Hardening Phase:	Plants are fertilized with 10-20-20 liquid NPK at 200 ppm during September. Irrigation is gradually reduced in September and October. Plants are given one final irrigation prior to winterization.
Length of Hardening Phase:	8 weeks
Harvesting, Storage and Shipping:	Total Time To Harvest: 6 months Harvest Date: September Storage Conditions: Overwinter in outdoor nursery under insulating foam cover and snow.
Length of Storage:	5 months
Other Comments:	E. umbellatum occupies a wide range of elevations and habitats; chilling requirements have been shown to vary considerably from one collection site to another.
References:	Flora of the Pacific Northwest, hitchcock and Cronquist, University of Washington Press,7th printing, 1973. Seeds: Ecology, Biogeography, and Evolution of Dormancy and Germination, Baskin and Baskin, Academic Press,1998. Chilling Requirements for Seed Germination of 10 Utah species of Perennial Buckwheat, Meyer and Paulsen, Native Plants Journal, Volume 1, Spring 2000. pp 18-24. Glacier National Park Propagation Records, unpublished.

Citation:

Luna, Tara; Corey, Susan. 2008. Propagation protocol for production of Container (plug) Eriogonum umbellatum Torr. plants 172 ml conetainers; USDI NPS - Glacier National Park West Glacier, Montana. In: Native Plant Network. URL: https://NativePlantNetwork.org (accessed 2024/04/24). US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Center for Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetic Resources.