Ecology
E. parvifolium grows in sandy soils with pH ranging from five to eight (e.g. tolerates mildly acidic to mildly alkaline soils). In cultivation this species will actually tolerate clay soils. While this shrub grows in part to full sun, it may tolerate shade in cultivation. It is not subject to herbivory by deer, although many smaller fauna will consume its flowers, fruits and leaves. This species thrives in rainfall regimes of 39 to 78 centimeters per annum.
Dune buckwheat is the host plant to a large variety of insects, and thus there is intense competition among various insects. Specifically it is a host plant to ten different Lepidoptera species, including the El Segundo blue butterfly and Smith's blue butterfly; moreover, in the case of the El Segundo blue, it is the only host plant used by that species in all of its life stages.
Read more about this topic: Eriogonum Parvifolium
Famous quotes containing the word ecology:
“... the fundamental principles of ecology govern our lives wherever we live, and ... we must wake up to this fact or be lost.”
—Karin Sheldon (b. c. 1945)