This past summer I had the privilege of seeing this form of Eriogonum ovalifolium blooming on the 9,000'< (2750 m) crest of the Steens Mountain in South Eastern Oregon. I was participating in an Eriogonum Society field trip lead by Dr James Reveal and Professor Don Mansfield. There were discussions as to whither this population was variety depressum or variety nivale. Dr Reveal felt it would need further study before it could definitively be assigned to a specific variety.
I am therefore calling it the 'Steens Mountain Form'.
The thousands of plants in this thriving population of Eriogonum ovalifolium form outstanding gray/green cushions 6-10" (15.25-25.4 cm)across and no higher than 1" ( 2.5 cm) tall. The flowers splay out across the foliage attached by short stems. The capitate flower inflorescence are various shades of pink with many intensely pink individuals along side pastel examples. I did happen to find one plant who's flowers were pale yellow with a flush of pink, a stand out among the crowd.
