Scientific Family
Polygonaceae
Synonyms
Eriogonum cernuum subsp. thurberi, E. cernuum subsp. viscosum
Other common names
Thurber's wild buckwheat
skeleton weed
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Annual
Height
4 to 12 inches
Riparian
No
Inconspicuous annual to 12 inches tall; stems 1 to many from base, trichotomously branching (3-forked); basal rosette of racquet-shaped leaves with leafless scapes; bearing tufts of fine woolly hairs at base; no petals, glandular hairs on flowers.
Annual, 1 to many stems with woolly tufts of fine hairs at base, diffusely branched; leaves basal; leaves hairy on 1 or both sides; flower stems glandular; flowers, no petals, outer sepals white or pink, greenish or reddish midribs, fan-shaped.
Habitat
Sandy soil, sandy flats, washes and slopes, saltbush, greasewood and creosote bush communities. Possible in oak, pinyon and/or juniper woodlands.
Plant Community
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Interior Chaparral
Desert Scrub
Low elevation
0
High elevation
4000
Flower Characteristics
Flower nearly round, no petals, outer sepals white or pink, greenish or reddish midribs; outer segments fan-shaped, somewhat hooded, abruptly narrow to claw-like base, inner segments narrow; flower stalks hair-like; base supporting top-shaped flowers.
Flower color
White or pink
Flower shape
Regular
Tubular
No
First bloom month
March
Last bloom month
June
Flower clusters
Rounded
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Stems diffusely branched (3-forked), woolly tufts of fine hairs at base; all leaves basal; roundish to oblong, to 1 inch long; wrinkled, may be hairless and grayish-green above, densely white-woolly beneath, with very small, rounded teeth along margins.
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Grayish-green
Leaf shape
Round or oval
Leaf margin
Toothed
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves & stems
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Achenes almost black, >1/16 inch long, lens-shaped, smooth.
Fruit type
Achene
Fruit color
Brown to black