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Plant Profile

Dakota Buckwheat (Eriogonum visheri)

The spindly Dakota wild buckwheat, growing on a barren slope in South Dakota's Badlands National Park Photo Credit: J. Locklear

Global Rank: G3 - Vulnerable
Legal Status: N/A
Family: Polygonaceae
State: MT, ND, SD
Nature Serve ID: 134512
Lifeform: Forb/herb
Date Inducted in National Collection: 05/28/1986

Description:

The gullied ridges and eroded hills of South Dakota's Badlands National Park have the character of a moonscape. Almost no plant life can be found on these barren slopes, except the Dakota wild buckwheat, a wiry, inconspicuous little plant that makes a home in the badlands of North and South Dakota and adjacent Montana. An annual that completes its life cycle in one year, the Dakota wild buckwheat can occupy the constantly eroding badland habitat that otherwise provides unstable footing for longer-lived plants.

Where is Dakota Buckwheat (Eriogonum visheri) located in the wild?

Habitat:

Barren shale and clay outcrops of badlands, eroded hillsides, slopes of bluffs, and outwash fans at the base of slopes. Gravelly, clayey soils. Soils have high shrink-swell potential, are strongly calcareous and high in sodium, all of which may limit competition and succession. Typical habitat is at least 50% bare soil. Surrounding vegetation is mixed grass prairie. Elevation 1900-3100 ft.

Distribution:

Centered in western South Dakota (Corson, Hardin, Jackson, Meade, Mellette, Pennington, Perkins and Ziebach counties), to western North Dakota (Billings, Golden Valley, Grant, McKenzie, Montrail, Siou

States & Provinces:

Dakota Buckwheat can be found in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota

Which CPC Partners conserve Dakota Buckwheat (Eriogonum visheri)?

Lauritzen Gardens

Not Sponsored

Assigned 06/11/17

CPC's Plant Sponsorship Program provides long term stewardship of rare plants in our National Collection. We are so grateful for all our donors who have made the Plant Sponsorship Program so successful. We are in the process of acknowledging all our wonderful plant sponsorship donors on our website. This is a work in progress and will be updated regularly.

Conservation Actions

10/10/2020

Successfully propagated from seed using scarification pretreatment (Nebraska Statewide Arboretum).

Nature Serve Biotics

05/02/2017

Great Plains regional endemic known from fewer than 100 element occurrences in South Dakota, North Dakota and Montana. Potentially threatened and vulnerable locally.

Jim Locklear

01/01/2010

Invasion of barren habitat by exotic weeds that compete with E. visheri.

Jim Locklear

01/01/2010

Montana: one occurrence (Montana Natural Heritage Program 2002). North Dakota: 14 populations (NatureServe 2001). South Dakota: 79 populations (NatureServe 2001).

Jim Locklear

01/01/2010

Successfully propagated from seed using scarification pretreatment (Nebraska Statewide Arboretum).

Jim Locklear

01/01/2010

Population monitoring. Longevity of seed in soil.