Scientific Family
Polygonaceae
Other common names
sulfur-flower wild buckwheat
sulfur buckwheat
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Perennial
Height
4 to 12 inches
Riparian
No
A variable species with many different varieties & subspecies, but all plants make loose mats of leaves, often green above and gray-
woolly beneath, with tiny, yellow or cream flowers in balls at ends of branches.
Bright yellow calyx; bracts subtending the inflorescence are large and leaflike; akenes not winged; stems many branched from the base; flower stems covered with hairs; woody stems;
thin flower stems distinguishes this from other Eriogonum sp.
Habitat
Clearings in ponderosa pine forests and pinyon juniper woodlands.
Plant Community
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Montane Conifer Forest
Low elevation
5000
High elevation
9000
Flower Characteristics
The rounded clusters of flowers occur at the end of 6-9 inch stems. The cream (yellowish-white) to sulfur-yellow, tubular flowers
fade to orange or red.
Flower color
Yellow, yellowish-white
Flower shape
Regular
Tubular
Yes
First bloom month
April
Last bloom month
September
Flower clusters
Rounded
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Leaves are oval to narrow and are whiteish and fuzzy underneath but gray-green and smooth on top. The scientific name, Eriogonum, means woolly knees in Greek and refers to the woolly joints on the stems of many species.
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Gray-green
Leaf shape
Round or oval
Leaf margin
Smooth
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves & stems
Spines
No