Eriogonum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. The genus is found in North America and is known as wild buckwheat. This is a highly species-rich genus, and indications are that active speciation is continuing. It includes some common wildflowers such as the California buckwheat.
Eriogonum truncatum, the Mount Diablo buckwheat, is a small pink wildflower, believed to have been extinct since 1936 until its rediscovery in 2005. The species is only known to live on Mount Diablo in Contra Costa County, northern California.
Eriogonum fasciculatum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common names California buckwheat and flat-topped buckwheat. Characterized by small, white and pink flower clusters that give off a cottony effect, this species grows variably from a patchy mat to a wide shrub, with the flowers turning a rusty color after blooming. This plant is of great benefit across its various habitats, providing an important food resource for a diversity of insect and mammal species. It also provides numerous ecosystem services for humans, including erosion control, post-fire mitigation, increases in crop yields when planted in hedgerows, and high habitat restoration value.
Eriogonum arborescens is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Santa Cruz Island buckwheat.
Eriogonum dasyanthemum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name chaparral buckwheat. This plant is endemic to California where it is limited to the Northern Coast Ranges, but it is quite common in its native range.
Eriogonum latifolium is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common names seaside buckwheat and coast buckwheat. This plant is native to the coastline of the western United States from Washington to central California, where it is a common resident of coastal bluffs and scrub.
Eriogonum ovalifolium is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name cushion buckwheat. It is native to western North America from California to Alberta, where it is a member of many plant communities in varied habitats, including the sagebrush steppe and alpine regions.
Eriogonum pyrolifolium is a species of wild buckwheat. It is native to western North America, from British Columbia to the high mountains of California.
Eriogonum wrightii is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common names bastardsage and Wright's buckwheat. It is native to the Southwestern United States, California, and northwest Mexico, where it grows in many plant communities, such as chaparral, in rocky habitats from mountains to deserts.
Eriogonum baileyi is a species of wild buckwheat that is commonly known as Bailey's buckwheat. It is native to the western United States, where it is a common member of the flora in several types of sandy habitat, such as desert and sagebrush. Eriogonum baileyi is an annual herb. It produces a spreading to erect, often wool-coated stem up to about half a meter tall. Leaves are woolly, round and located at the base of the plant. The inflorescence is a branching cyme bearing many clusters of flowers. The individual flowers are 1 to 2 millimeters wide and white or pink in color.
Eriogonum brachyanthum is a species of wild buckwheat that is commonly known as shortflower buckwheat. It is native to eastern California and western Nevada, particularly the Mojave Desert region, where it is common to abundant, and even sometimes weedy. It is also known from southern Oregon. The plant grows in sandy habitats such as desert flats and sagebrush. It also grows in pinyon-juniper and montane conifer woodlands. It is an annual herb that grows 30 to 40 centimeters tall. Leaves are located at the base of the stem, woolly, and oval or rounded in shape. The top of the stem is occupied by a branching inflorescence bearing many widely spaced clusters of flowers. Each individual flower is about a millimeter wide and light yellow in color. Flowers bloom from April to November.
Eriogonum butterworthianum is a rare species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Butterworth's buckwheat. It is endemic to the Santa Lucia Mountains of central Monterey County, California, where it is known from a few occurrences in the wilderness southeast of Big Sur in the vicinity of Junipero Serra Peak. Its native habitats include oak and conifer woodlands, chaparral communities, and sandstone outcrops. Eriogonum butterworthianum is a small clumpy shrub or subshrub that grows up to about 30 centimeters tall and wide. Leaves are 2 centimeters long and reddish-green in color. They are woolly, oval in shape, and curled under at the edges. The inflorescence is a cluster of flowers up to 2 or 3 centimeters wide. Each individual flower is a few millimeters wide and dull yellowish to pinkish in color. Flowers bloom June to September.
Eriogonum eremicola is a rare species of wild buckwheat known by the common names Telescope Peak buckwheat and Wild Rose Canyon buckwheat. It is endemic to Inyo County, California, where it is known from only a few occurrences in the Inyo Mountains and Telescope Peak in Death Valley. It grows in sandy to rocky habitat in the forests and woodlands of these desert mountains. It is an annual herb producing a spreading, glandular, reddish green stem up to about 25 centimeters tall. The rounded, woolly leaves are up to about 2.5 centimeters long and are located at the base of the stem. The scattered inflorescences are small clusters of tiny flowers which are white with reddish stripes, aging to solid red, or sometimes yellow. The plant is under protection in Death Valley National Park.
Eriogonum hoffmannii is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Hoffmann's buckwheat. It is endemic to Inyo County, California, where it is found only in the mountains around Death Valley; most of the known populations of the plant are located in Death Valley National Park. The plant grows in the desert scrub on the slopes of the Panamint, Black, and Funeral Mountains.
Eriogonum sphaerocephalum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common names rock buckwheat and round-headed desert buckwheat. It is native to the western United States.
Eriogonum evanidum is a rare species of wild buckwheat known by the common name vanishing wild buckwheat. It is native to southern California and Baja California, where it has been collected from widely scattered areas. Most historical occurrences are now extirpated. Some sources suggested that it was probably extinct, but living specimens were rediscovered in 2007.
Eriogonum thymoides is an "abundant" species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name thymeleaf wild buckwheat, or simply thymeleaf buckwheat.
Eriogonum abertianum, with the common names Abert's buckwheat and Abert wild buckwheat, is a species of buckwheats in the family Polygonaceae.
Eriogonum tiehmii, known as Tiehm's buckwheat, is a species of flowering plant endemic to the Silver Peak Range of Esmeralda County, Nevada in the United States. Its only known population is at high risk of destruction due to proposed mining for lithium by Australian company Ioneer; a significant portion of the population was destroyed in 2020.
