Eriogonum vimineum
An annual Polygonaceae herb with basal leaves and six-petaled flowers, flowering May through early November, native to the western United States and found in disturbed, desert, rocky, forest, brush, sand, riparian, and grassland habitats; grows 5–50 cm tall with slender, wiry stems bearing summer domes of rose-pink to white flowers above the basal leaves.
Common Names
Wickerstem Buckwheat, Wicker Buckwheat, Broom Buckwheat, Wire-Stem Buckwheat, Wicker Stemmed Eriogonum, Wicker-Stem Wild Buckwheat, Broom Wild Buckwheat, Tinípong Bángsà, Broom Buchwheat
Summary
Wicker buckwheat is an annual herb in the Polygonaceae native to the western United States. It grows upright with slender stems and a freely branched inflorescence; basal leaves are oval to broadly elliptic and have a gray-woolly underside with a gray-green upper surface; flowering occurs on wiry stems in small clusters that are white, pink, or pale yellow.
It thrives in full sun with low to very low water and fast-draining sandy or rocky soils, tolerates dry, disturbed conditions, and is native across western states; not endangered or ranked; drought-tolerant once established and suitable for container plantings as well as native plantings, rock gardens, and landscape beds; pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and other insects are attracted to the flowers.
Lifecycle
Annual
Height
12-20 inches
Spread
12-20 inches
Hardiness Zones
Zones 8b-11
Sunlight Requirements
Ideally full sun.
Soil Type
Dry, well-drained, fast-draining soils (sandy, gravely, volcanic or granite-based).
Soil Drainage
Well-drained soil
Bloom Color
Pink, White
Bloom Time
Spring, Summer, Fall
Foliage Color
Gray-green
Fall Foliage Color
Green
Leaf Lifecycle
Deciduous
Growth Rate
Annual
Seasons of Interest
Spring, Summer, Fall
Attracts Wildlife
Attracts bees, butterflies, other pollinators, birds
Taxonomy
- Taxonomic Rank
- Species
- Author
- Douglas ex Benth.
- Publication
- Trans. Linn. Soc. London 17: 416 (1836)
Superior Taxa
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Subkingdom
- Pteridobiotina
- Phylum
- Angiosperms
- Order
- Caryophyllales
- Family
- Polygonaceae
- Genus
- Eriogonum
Synonyms
Eriogonum shoshonense Eriogonum vimineum var. avicularia Eriogonum vimineum var. californicum Eriogonum vimineum var. cithariforme Eriogonum vimineum var. commixtum Eriogonum vimineum var. covilleanum Eriogonum vimineum var. eriocladon Eriogonum vimineum var. rigescens Eriogonum vimineum var. salicornioides Eriogonum vimineum var. vimineum Eriogonum vimineum var. divergens Eriogonum vimineum var. elegans Eriogonum vimineum var. luteolum Eriogonum vimineum var. oregonense Eriogonum vimineum var. shoshonense