Scientific Family
Polygonaceae
Other common names
Fraziers Well wild buckwheat
Frazier Well buckwheat
Ripley's wild buckwheat
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Perennial
Height
To 27 inches
Riparian
No
Subshrub or herbaceous perennial with leafless flower stems 2 to 6 inches long, sprawling or mat-like, can be tufted; leaves narrower at their base, 1/16 to 3/16 inch long, strongly rolled under and less than 1/16 inch wide.
Stems mat-like or tufted, not woody above ground; leaves and stems grayish-green, leaves densely hairy on underside; head-like clusters of white flowers; floral bracts without hairs or sparsely hairy; dry one-seeded fruit is not conspicuously winged.
Habitat
Found on sandy clay flats and slopes on edge of sandstone outcrops, in pinyon pine and oak-juniper woodlands.
Plant Community
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Low elevation
3500
High elevation
6500
Flower Characteristics
Flowers about 3/16 inch wide; petals and sepals fused proximal, median reddish stripe on petals and sepals, outer whorl nearly spherical, inner whorl broadly rounded, 1/16 inch wide; stamens 3/16 inch long, extend beyond the flowers, filaments hairy.
Flower color
White, reddish stripe
Flower shape
Regular
Tubular
No
First bloom month
March
Last bloom month
June
Flower clusters
Rounded
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Leaves alternate or whorled, narrower at their base, 1/16 to 3/16 inch long and up to 1/16 inch wide, dense white hairs below, sparsely hairy to very hairy below with margins rolled under, stems hairy.
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Green
Leaf shape
Narrow
Leaf margin
Smooth
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves & stems
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Fruits 1/16 inch long with smooth and hairless surfaces.
Fruit type
Achene
Fruit color
Light brown