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 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 alpinum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Trinity buckwheat.
Eriogonum cinereum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common names coastal buckwheat and ashyleaf buckwheat.
Eriogonum gilmanii is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Gilman's buckwheat. This plant is endemic to Inyo County, California, where it is known only from the desert mountain slopes of the Cottonwood, Last Chance, and Panamint Ranges. This is a flat mat-forming, woody perennial herb which grows in patches under 20 centimeters wide on rocky soils. Its tiny fleshy leaves, each under half a centimeter wide, are covered in a dense hairy white wool. The plant blooms in showy erect heads of small, inflated flowers, each a few millimeters wide and yellowish or orange with red stripes.
Eriogonum nervulosum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Snow Mountain buckwheat. This uncommon plant is endemic to the inland North Coast Ranges of California, where it is known from only a handful of occurrences, most of which are in Lake County. It is named for Snow Mountain, a local peak.
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 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 kelloggii is a rare species of wild buckwheat known by the common names Red Mountain buckwheat and Kellogg's buckwheat. It is endemic to Mendocino County, California, where it is known from only five occurrences on Red Mountain near Leggett. It grows in woodland habitat on serpentine soils.
Eriogonum kennedyi is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Kennedy's buckwheat.
Eriogonum luteolum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name goldencarpet buckwheat. It is native to many of the mountain ranges of California and southern Oregon, including the Sierra Nevada, Cascades and California Coast Ranges. It grows in mountain and foothill habitat, such as forest and woodland, on granite and sometimes serpentine soils.
Eriogonum molestum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name pineland buckwheat. It is endemic to southern California, where it grows in the Transverse Ranges of Ventura County to the Peninsular Ranges of San Diego County.
Eriogonum parishii is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name mountainmist.
Eriogonum rixfordii is an uncommon species of wild buckwheat known by the common name pagoda buckwheat. It is native to the Mojave Desert, where it grows in California's Death Valley and adjacent parts of Nevada.
Eriogonum callistum is a rare species of wild buckwheat, known by the common name Tehachapi buckwheat.
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 argophyllum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common names Sulphur Hot Springs buckwheat, Silver Lake buckwheat, and Ruby Valley buckwheat. It is endemic to Nevada in the United States, where there is only one known population.
Eriogonum diatomaceum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Churchill Narrows buckwheat. It is endemic to Nevada in the United States, where it is known only from the Pine Nut Mountains in Lyon County. It is limited to the Churchill Narrows near Fort Churchill State Historic Park. This plant was discovered in 1997 and described to science in 2002.
Eriogonum niveum is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name snow buckwheat. It is native to the Pacific Northwest of North America, where it occurs in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. It flowers late in the summer.
Eriogonum coloradense is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name Colorado buckwheat. It is endemic to Colorado in the United States.
