Scientific Family
Polygonaceae
Synonyms
Eriogonum cernuum var. psammophilum,, E. cernuum var. tenue, E.cernuum var. umbraticum, E. cernuum var. viminale.
Other common names
nodding wild buckwheat
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Annual
Similar species
Eriogonum polycladon
Height
2 to 24 inches
Riparian
No
Annual herb, 2 to 24 inches tall, from a slender taproot; smooth stems spreading to erect, diffusely branched at or above the base; leaves mostly basal; scapose (bare leafless stalks) stems above base; white to pink or red flowers in round clusters.Â
Slender erect stems, unbranched below flowers, not hairy; leaves round, mostly basal, hairy, whitish, grayish, lighter above, stems to 1-1/2 inches; flowers delicate, white, pink to red, dangling round clusters; sepals not hairy, pressed against branches.
Habitat
Found on sandy to gravelly or clayey flats and slopes, in grassland and sagebrush communities, pinyon-juniper woodlands, and ponderosa pine and mixed conifer forests.
Plant Community
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Montane Conifer Forest
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Low elevation
3000
High elevation
8000
Flower Characteristics
Flower heads form cluster held together by smooth, cup-shaped structure (involucre); cluster on hairless stalk up to 1 inch, angling downward; clusters subtended by 3 scale-like bracts; 6 ruffly petal-like tepals, these white to pink, red with maturity.
Flower color
White to pink, red
Flower shape
Regular
Tubular
No
First bloom month
July
Last bloom month
September
Flower clusters
Rounded
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Many branched from or above the base; leaves in rosette at base, or on lower stems; leaf stalks, 1/2 to 1-1/2 inches long; round leaf blades to 1 inch long, smooth margins; Both sides of blades covered by cobwebby hairs; upper surface is lighter in color.
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Whitish, grayish, greenish
Leaf shape
Round or oval
Leaf margin
Smooth
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Achenes 3-angled, less than 1/16 inch long, light brown to brown, smooth.
Fruit type
Achene
Fruit color
Light brown to brown