# 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.

- **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.

## About

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.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/d3d99d30-1b55-4480-bef1-7be519cf3fc9
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/54897
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eriogonum heracleoides
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/317253704/medium.jpg (Paul McClellan, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.