Eriogonum microthecum
Encyclopedia
Eriogonum microthecum is a species of wild buckwheat
known by the common name slender buckwheat. It is native to the western United States where it is found in a variety of habitats, particularly in dry areas such as deserts.
which is quite variable in appearance. There are many varieties, some of which are isolated to small geographical distributions. It may be a low clumping plant or a sprawling shrub to one and a half meters in height and width. It has small, woolly leaves with rolled edges scattered about its branches.
The upper portion of the plant makes up its inflorescence
, which often has a flat top. The tiny clustered flowers are white to yellow or sometimes pinkish.
Eriogonum
Eriogonum is the scientific name for a genus of flowering plants, in the family Polygonaceae. The genus is found in North America and is known as wild buckwheat. This is a highly species-rich genus, and indications are that active speciation is continuing...
known by the common name slender buckwheat. It is native to the western United States where it is found in a variety of habitats, particularly in dry areas such as deserts.
Description
This is a shrubShrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
which is quite variable in appearance. There are many varieties, some of which are isolated to small geographical distributions. It may be a low clumping plant or a sprawling shrub to one and a half meters in height and width. It has small, woolly leaves with rolled edges scattered about its branches.
The upper portion of the plant makes up its inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
, which often has a flat top. The tiny clustered flowers are white to yellow or sometimes pinkish.
Varieties
Varieties include, but are not limited to:- E. m. var. alpinum - (alpine slender buckwheat) - native to the high mountains of California, rarely tops 10 centimeters in height
- E. m. var. corymbosoides - (San Bernardino buckwheat) - a brown-flowered variety native to the San Bernardino MountainsSan Bernardino MountainsThe San Bernardino Mountains are a short transverse mountain range north and east of San Bernardino in Southern California in the United States. The mountains run for approximately 60 miles east-west on the southern edge of the Mojave Desert in southwestern San Bernardino County, north of the...
- E. m. var. lapidocola - (Inyo Mountains buckwheat) - a small variety native to the WhiteWhite Mountains (California)The White Mountains of California are a triangular fault block mountain range facing the Sierra Nevada across the upper Owens Valley. They extend for approximately as a greatly elevated plateau about wide on the south, narrowing to a point at the north, with elevations generally increasing...
and Inyo MountainsInyo MountainsThe Inyo Mountains are a short mountain range east of the Sierra Nevada mountains in eastern California in the United States. The range separates the Owens Valley to the west with Saline Valley to the east, extending for approximately 70 mi SSE from the southern end of the White Mountains,...