wild buckwheats

perennial
no flower stipe
inflorescence bracts generally 3

inflorescence branched
flowers are clustered or individual
multiple individual flowers may grow from the same node, but not in a cluster

california buckwheat
Eriogonum fasciculatum

california buckwheat
Eriogonum fasciculatum

• flowers are clustered
• shrub
• leaf blades narrowly linear to oblanceolate, ≤ 2 cm, generally strongly clustered
• uncommon

seacliff wild buckwheat
Eriogonum parvifolium

seacliff wild buckwheat
Eriogonum parvifolium

• flowers are clustered, glabrous
• shrub
• leaf blades narrow to round, not clustered
• Ecology: sand
• very rare

santa cruz island wild buckwheat
Eriogonum arborescens

• flowers are clustered, long-soft-hairy
• shrub
• leaf blades linear to narrowly oblong, margins rolled under, not clustered
• rare

coastal wild buckwheat
Eriogonum cinereum

• flowers are clustered, long-soft-hairy
• shrub
• leaf blades 1.5–3 cm, ovate, margins flat [sort of]
• inflorescence (all branches collectively) generally head-like
• very rare

santa catalina island buckwheat
Eriogonum giganteum var. giganteum

santa catalina island buckwheat
Eriogonum giganteum var. giganteum

• flowers are clustered, long-soft-hairy
• shrub
• leaf blades 2–7 cm, oblong-ovate to ovate or lanceolate to narrowly oblong, margins flat
• inflorescence (all branches collectively) open, cyme-like
• very rare
• despite its name, it is the only variety of E. giganteum that is widely naturalized

seaside buckwheat
Eriogonum latifolium

seaside buckwheat
Eriogonum latifolium

• flowers are clustered
• stems tomentose (rarely glabrous), up to 70 cm
• leaves cauline, but only proximal
• herb
• ecology: sand
• very common along the coast

naked buckwheat
Eriogonum nudum

naked buckwheat
Eriogonum nudum

• flowers are clustered or individual
• stems glabrous, up to 15 cm (or rarely 20 cm)
• leaves basal or “sheathing up stem”
• herb
• very common

colorado desert wild buckwheat
Eriogonum deserticola

• [this interpretation of Jepson is incorrect, but I haven’t figured out the correct interpretation yet]
• flowers are individual
• flowers at inflorescence branch tips and forks of branches
• shrub
• very rare

long-stemmed buckwheat
Eriogonum elongatum var. elongatum

long-stemmed buckwheat
Eriogonum elongatum var. elongatum

• [this interpretation of Jepson is incorrect, but I haven’t figured out the correct interpretation yet]
• flowers are individual
• flowers only at inflorescence branch tips
• herb
• very rare

wright’s buckwheat
Eriogonum wrightii

• [this interpretation of Jepson is incorrect, but I haven’t figured out the correct interpretation yet]
• flowers are individual
• flowers only at inflorescence branch tips
• shrub or subshrub
• rare

perennial
flower stipe present
inflorescence bracts 2–13+

sulfur buckwheat
Eriogonum umbellatum

sulfur buckwheat
Eriogonum umbellatum

• herb to shrub
• flower stipe present, not winged
• rare

hoary wild buckwheat
Eriogonum saxatile

• mat
• flower stipe present, winged
• rare

annual
involucres angled to strongly ribbed, sessile and strongly appressed or at tips of short bracted branchlets (or peduncled)

tiburon buckwheat
Eriogonum luteolum var. caninum

• flowers at branchlet tips
• stem glabrous
• involucres sessile, 3–4 mm, 5-toothed
• basal leaf blades oblong-ovate
• Marin, between Berkeley and Mt. Diablo

coville’s buckwheat
Eriogonum covilleanum

• flowers at branchlet tips
• stem glabrous
• involucres sessile, 2–4 mm, 5–8-toothed
• basal leaf blades generally round to reniform
• rare

clay buckwheat
Eriogonum argillosum

• flowers at branchlet tips
• stem generally glabrous, involucres peduncled at lower nodes [how can involucre be distinguished from branchlet?]
• very rare

mount diablo buckwheat
Eriogonum truncatum

• flowers at branchlet tips
• stem tomentose
• extremely rare, almost extinct

elegant wild buckwheat
Eriogonum elegans

elegant wild buckwheat
Eriogonum elegans

• flowers not at branchlet tips, generally appressed with no peduncles
• involucres 1–1.5 mm
• very rare in Henry Coe

wand buckwheat
Eriogonum roseum

• flowers not at branchlet tips, generally appressed with no peduncles
• involucres 4–5 mm
• outer perianth lobes not fan-shaped or hastate
• leaf blades oblong-obovate to oblanceolate or oblong
• uncommon

slender woolly buckwheat
Eriogonum gracile

slender woolly buckwheat
Eriogonum gracile

• flowers not at branchlet tips, generally appressed with no peduncles
• involucres 2–3 mm
• outer perianth lobes not fan-shaped or hastate
• leaf blades oblong-obovate to oblanceolate or oblong
• scattered

wickerstem buckwheat
Eriogonum vimineum

• flowers not at branchlet tips, generally appressed with no peduncles
• involucres 2–5 mm
• outer perianth lobes not fan-shaped or hastate
• basal leaf blades ± round
• no cauline leaves
• rare

golden-carpet wild buckwheat
Eriogonum luteolum var. luteolum

golden-carpet wild buckwheat
Eriogonum luteolum var. luteolum

• flowers not at branchlet tips, generally appressed with no peduncles
• involucres 2–5 mm
• outer perianth lobes not fan-shaped or hastate
• basal and cauline leaf blades ± round
• scattered

annual
involucres smooth, not ribbed or angled, generally peduncled, if sessile then not appressed

all have both basal and cauline leaves

rose and white buckwheat
Eriogonum gracillimum

• involucres glandular-hairy
• perianth lobes alike, oblong to elliptic, not inflated
• very rare

anglestem buckwheat
Eriogonum angulosum

• involucres glandular-hairy or hairy [Jepson disagrees with itself in different places]
• perianth lobes not alike, outer elliptic to obovate, outer occasionally inflated basally, inner narrower
• rare

twotooth buckwheat
Eriogonum viridescens

• involucres glandular
• perianth lobes not alike, outer obovate to spoon-shaped, obviously inflated above middle, inner narrowly spoon-shaped
• very rare

hairy-flower wild buckwheat
Eriogonum hirtiflorum

• involucres sparsely hairy
• flowers 2, 0.8–1.1 mm
• very rare

unarmed buckwheat
Eriogonum inerme

• involucres glabrous or hairy
• flowers 4–6, 1.2–1.8 mm
• rare