Scientific Family
Polygonaceae
Other common names
Parish's wild buckwheat
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Annual
Height
Spreading 4 to 10 inches
Riparian
No
Intricately branched clumps of spreading green stems; hairy, oval leaves around base of stems; spreading array of tiny flowers with darker red midribs; each individual flower under 1/16 inch wide with fuzzy texture.
Plants annuals, rarely perennial, diffused branching form tight mounds; flowering stems can be glandular; leaf blades basal, rounded to spatula-like, hairy, sometimes surrounding the lower stems; flowers hairy, white to pink or red, rarely yellow.
Habitat
Granite sandy flats and slopes, mixed grassland, chaparral, and sagebrush communities, oak and montane conifer woodlands.
Plant Community
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Montane Conifer Forest
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Low elevation
4200
High elevation
10500
Flower Characteristics
Small flower clusters open from center outward, glandular above nodes; bracts whorled on thread-like, spreading stalks, less than 1/16 inch, hairless, not ribbed; outer part of flower less than 1/16 inch long, slightly hairy; no petals, colored sepals.
Flower color
White to pink or red
Flower shape
Regular
Tubular
No
First bloom month
June
Last bloom month
October
Flower clusters
Rounded
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Basal leaves; stalk to 3/4 inch long, hairy, slightly winged; blade spatula-shape, simple, 3/4 to 2-1/2 inches long and 3/4 inch wide, hairy on both surfaces; margins smooth, often fringed with hairs.
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Green
Leaf shape
Round or oval
Leaf margin
Smooth
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves & stems
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Triangular, 1/16 inch long, hairless.
Fruit type
Achene
Fruit color
Brown to blackish