''Eriogonum thymoides'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name thymeleaf wild buckwheat, or simply thymeleaf buckwheat.
Eriogonum thymoides
'. Washington Burke Museum.

Description

''Eriogonum thymoides'' is an intricately branched subshrub with foliage up to tall and wide and covered in short woolly or silky hairs. Younger plants usually have a very neat compact appearance, and older plants may have a gnarled woody base and may be somewhat taller and may sprawl extensively. The hairy leaves are linear to spatulate and flat or rolled under at the edges and up to 1.0 cm in length. It produces erect flowering stems that project up to above the foliage. Each flower stem has a whorl of small

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...

-like leaves near the midpoint and is topped by a head-like

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 ...

up to 2 cm wide. The flower is up to 1 cm long and is variable in color, including yellow, white and rosy red, yellow and rosy red, and white. In bud, the flowers are often deep rosy red. The bases of the petals and

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s are covered with long hairs. The species is polygamodioecious, meaning that some of the plants have both male and bisexual flowers, while others have both female and bisexual flowers. ''Eriogonum thymoides'' can be distinguished from the similar to '' Eriogonum douglasii'' by its (usually) smaller leaf size, and by its

involucre In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also look ...

lobes, which are erect and appressed in ''E. thymoides'', and spreading to reflexed in ''E. douglasii'' (the involucre is the bract that envelopes the base of the flower head). The leaves of ''E. douglasii'' are also often flatter, wider, and more silvery in color. Eriogonum thymoides Matt-Berger iNat labelled

Eriogonum thymoides Matt-Berger iNat labelled

Range and Habitat

''Eriogonum thymoides'' is native to dry regions of

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, and

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

of the United States, where there are three main population groups.
Eriogonum thymoides
'. Flora of North America. It flowers in mid-spring. This plant grows in

sagebrush Sagebrush is the common name of several woody and herbaceous species of plants in the genus ''Artemisia (plant), Artemisia''. The best-known sagebrush is the shrub ''Artemisia tridentata''. Sagebrush is native to the western half of North Amer ...

ponderosa pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine, is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is t ...

forest openings, and mountain ridges, often on very shallow rocky soil above basalt. Though it grows in a restricted region it is locally abundant.

Uses

According to one source, this plant has "special value to native bees."''Eriogonum thymoides''
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Gallery

Image: Eriogonum thymoides 3.jpg, Old plant with thick woody base Image: Eriogonum thymoides iNat-72865171.jpg, In bud Image: Eriogonum thymoides iNat-118724818.jpg, Yellow flower form

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5389449 thymoides Flora of Idaho Flora of Oregon Flora of Washington (state) Flora without expected TNC conservation status