''Eriogonum microthecum'' is a species of
wild buckwheat known by the common name slender buckwheat. It is native to the western United States where it is found in a variety of habitats, particularly in dry areas such as deserts.
Description
This is a
shrub
A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...
which is quite variable in appearance. There are many varieties, some of which are isolated to small geographical distributions. It may be a low clumping plant or a sprawling shrub to one and a half meters in height and width. It has small, woolly leaves with rolled edges scattered about its branches.
The upper portion of the plant makes up its
inflorescence
In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...
, which often has a flat top. The tiny clustered flowers are white to yellow or sometimes pinkish.
Varieties
Varieties include, but are not limited to:
*''E. m.'' var. ''alpinum'' - (alpine slender buckwheat) - native to the high mountains of California, rarely tops 10 centimeters in height
*''E. m.'' var. ''corymbosoides'' - (San Bernardino buckwheat) - a brown-flowered variety native to the
San Bernardino Mountains
*''E. m.'' var. ''lapidocola'' - (Inyo Mountains buckwheat) - a small variety native to the
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
and
Inyo Mountains
The Inyo Mountains are a short mountain range east of the Sierra Nevada in eastern California in the United States. The range separates the Owens Valley to the west from Saline Valley to the east, extending for approximately south-southeast f ...
External links
Jepson Manual TreatmentPhoto gallery
microthecum
Flora of the Northwestern United States
Flora of the Southwestern United States
Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States)
Flora of the Rocky Mountains
Flora of California
Flora of the Great Basin
Flora without expected TNC conservation status
{{Polygonaceae-stub