Ben Grady gives presentation about his research on Tiehm’s wild buckwheat

Assistant Professor of Biology Ben Grady gave an invited research presentation Oct. 17 for the biology seminar series of Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin. The title of his talk was “Clean energy and conservation: the story of Tiehm’s wild buckwheat (Eriogonum tiehmii).”

Tiehm’s wild buckwheat is a wildflower known to grow only in a small, 10-acre patch of the Silver Peak Range in Nevada. It grows in unusual soil, with high levels of lithium and boron, which is toxic to other plants, and is a critical part of the ecosystem there. Tiehm’s wild buckwheat is in immediate danger of extinction because of a proposed lithium mine and effects of climate change.