Eriogonum heracleoides

Eriogonum heracleoides
Secure
Secure (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Embryophytes
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Polygonaceae
Genus: Eriogonum
Species:
E. heracleoides
Binomial name
Eriogonum heracleoides
Varieties[2]
  • E. h. var. heracleoides
  • E. h. var. leucophaeum
Synonyms[3]
  • Eriogonum angustifolium
  • Eriogonum gyrophyllum
  • Eriogonum umbellatum

Eriogonum heracleoides (common names; parsnipflower buckwheat, whorled buckwheat, and Wyeth buckwheat[4]) is a plant of western North America that has many flowering clusters which are usually cream colored, or off-white. It can usually be found in rocky areas, such as sagebrush deserts and Ponderosa pine forests. Parsnipflower buckwheat is in the genus Eriogonum and the family Polygonaceae, which is a family of plants known as the "knotweed family". It inhabits much of the western part of the United States and southern British Columbia.[5][6]

Description

The parsnipflower buckwheat is an erect herbaceous perennial plant rarely more than 40 cm (15+3⁄4 in) tall. Blooming early in the summer, its flowers measure 4–9 mm (1⁄8–3⁄8 in); these are pale yellow and redden with age.[7] The leaves are arranged in loose rosettes, covered with soft hairs measuring 5–30 mm (1⁄4–1+1⁄8 in). The hairs feel woolly and matted, and cover both sides of the leaf.[8] The flowers have one carpel (achene). The plant has a whorled arrangement of leaves at midpoint of the stem[9][10] as well as one beneath the base of the stems.[7] It blooms in early to mid summer. It attracts butterflies, bees, insects, and birds and is the host plant for several Palouse butterflies.[11]

Taxonomy

In 1834 Thomas Nuttall described and named Eriogonum heracleoides, placing it with the other species in the Eriogonum genus. It in turn is classified in the Polygonaceae family. The species has two accepted varieties.[2]

  • Eriogonum heracleoides var. heracleoides – Native from British Columbia to Colorado[3]
  • Eriogonum heracleoides var. leucophaeum – Native to just Washington and Idaho[12]

Eriogonum heracleoides has eleven synonyms, one of the species and ten of variety heracleoides.[13]

Table of Synonyms
Name Year Rank Synonym of: Notes
Eriogonum angustifolium Nutt. 1848 species var. heracleoides = het.
Eriogonum gyrophyllum Nutt. 1848 species var. heracleoides = het.
Eriogonum heracleoides subsp. angustifolium (Nutt.) Piper 1906 subspecies var. heracleoides = het.
Eriogonum heracleoides var. angustifolium (Nutt.) Torr. & A.Gray 1870 variety var. heracleoides = het.
Eriogonum heracleoides var. micranthum Gand. 1906 variety var. heracleoides = het.
Eriogonum heracleoides var. minus Benth. 1856 variety var. heracleoides = het.
Eriogonum heracleoides var. multiceps Gand. 1906 variety var. heracleoides = het.
Eriogonum heracleoides var. rydbergii Gand. 1906 variety var. heracleoides = het.
Eriogonum heracleoides subsp. typicum S.Stokes 1936 subspecies E. heracleoides ≡ hom., not validly publ.
Eriogonum heracleoides var. viride Gand. 1906 variety var. heracleoides = het.
Eriogonum umbellatum Benth. 1836 species var. heracleoides = het., nom. illeg. homonym. post.
Notes: ≡ homotypic synonym; = heterotypic synonym

References

Citations

  1. ↑ NatureServe 2026.
  2. 1 2 POWO 2026a.
  3. 1 2 POWO 2026b.
  4. ↑ United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service. "Parsnipflower buckwheat" (PDF). Plant Guide.
  5. ↑ Sullivan, Steven. K. (2020). "Eriogonum heracleoides". Wildflower Search. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
  6. ↑ USDA, NRCS. (2020). "Eriogonum heracleoides". The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
  7. 1 2 Taylor, Ronald J. (1994) [1992]. Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary (rev. ed.). Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Pub. Co. p. 28. ISBN 0-87842-280-3. OCLC 25708726.
  8. ↑ Floras Flora in North America. "Parsnipflower buckwheat".
  9. ↑ Klinkenberg, Brian, ed. (2020). "Eriogonum heracleoides". E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
  10. ↑ Giblin, David, ed. (2020). "Eriogonum heracleoides". WTU Herbarium Image Collection. Burke Museum, University of Washington. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
  11. ↑ Thorn Creek Thorn Creek Native Seed. "Wyeth buckwheat".
  12. ↑ POWO 2026c.
  13. ↑ POWO 2026a; POWO 2026b.

Sources

Web sources

Further reading

  • Daniel E. Moerman (2009). "Eriogonum heracleoides". Native American Medicinal Plants: an ethnobotanical dictionary. Portland, OR / London: Timber Press. p. 194. ISBN 978-0-88192-987-4.
  • Wikimedia Commons logo Media related to Eriogonum heracleoides at Wikimedia Commons
  • cwnp.org: Eriogonum heracleoides
  • Parsnipflower Buckwheat
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