parsnipflower buckwheat
Eriogonum heracleoides
As the flowers of this buckwheat age, they dry out and transform from a creamy white to a beautiful, papery rust-red color that persists through the winter.
- Scientific name
- Eriogonum heracleoides
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Caryophyllales › Polygonaceae › Eriogonum
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- grassland
- Habitat
- Dry, rocky slopes, sagebrush scrub, and open ponderosa pine forests.
- Diet
- Autotrophic (photosynthesis)
- Range
- British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado
- Size
- 10-60 cm tall, forming loose mats up to 40 cm wide
- Lifespan
- 5-15 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Invasive plant species like cheatgrass, habitat loss from urban development, and overgrazing.
- Safe to approach?
- This plant is entirely harmless and safe to approach. Enjoy photographing its delicate blooms, but watch your step to avoid trampling the fragile cryptobiotic soils and native grasses in its arid habitat.
Eriogonum heracleoides (common names; parsnipflower buckwheat , whorled buckwheat , and Wyeth buckwheat ) is a plant that has many flowering clusters which are usually cream coloured, or off-white. It can usually be found in rocky areas, such as sagebrush deserts and Ponderosa pine forests. Parsnipflower buckwheat is in the genus Eriogonum and the family Polygonaceae, which is a family of plants known as the "knotweed family". It inhabits much of the western part of the United States.
Photo: Paul McClellan, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
Plain-text version: /species/d3d99d30-1b55-4480-bef1-7be519cf3fc9.md