Eriogonum deserticola (dune eriogonum) ( )

Unstable dune surfaces represent the greatest threat to dune plants. Only species that survive cycles of burial and erosion are successful in such dynamic habitats. One strategy for growing on moving dunes is to have a deep ad extensive root system that can stabilize mounds of sand, thereby limiting erosion. A tolerance of irregular burial by moving sand is seen in dune eriogonum, a long-lived woody shrub primarily restricted in California to Algodones Dunes. Large plants are tolerant of being cyclically buried and uncovered by moving sand, and large lateral roots that may extend for 10 feet or more. "California Desert Plants, Philip W Rundel, Robert J Gustafson, Michael E Kauffmann."