Eriogonum heracleoides

Common Names

Parsnipflower Buckwheat, Whorled Buckwheat, Wyeth Buckwheat, Creamy Buckwheat, Wild Buckwheat, Desert Trumpet, Hercules Buckwheat, Indian Tobacco, Umbrella Plant

Summary

Parsnipflower buckwheat is a long‑lived drought‑tolerant perennial herb native to western North America, forming low spreading mats with a woody caudex and erect flowering stems up to about 75 cm tall. Basal, woolly gray‑green leaves accompany inflorescences that are simple or compound umbels with a mid‑stem whorl of leaflike bracts; flowers are cream to white, aging to red, and 4–9 mm long. The plant thrives in dry, shallow, gravelly to rocky soils across sagebrush deserts, grasslands, mountain brush, woodlands, and conifer forests at elevations roughly 660–11,500 feet.

For cultivation, it prefers full sun and very low water on well‑drained, xeric soils; commonly used in restoration seed mixes and habitat plantings and known for wildlife value as a nectar and forage source for butterflies, bees, and other insects. Propagation occurs by seed (spring sowing), with transplants from containers commonly used for establishment; seeds germinate in 1–3 months at 13–18°C, and maintenance is minimal once established.

Lifecycle

Perennial

Height

4-23.5 inches

Spread

8-40 inches

Hardiness Zones

Zones 4

Sunlight Requirements

Ideally full sun. Tolerates partial shade

Soil Type

Well-drained, gravelly to rocky soils.

Soil Drainage

Well-drained

Soil pH

4.6-6.5 (acidic to neutral)

Bloom Color

Cream to white with yellowish tints

Bloom Time

Summer

Foliage Color

Green to gray-blue-green foliage

Fall Foliage Color

Brown to Red

Leaf Lifecycle

Deciduous

Growth Rate

Moderate to slow.

Seasons of Interest

Spring, Summer, Fall

Propagation Methods

Seeds, Cuttings, Division

Attracts Wildlife

Attracts bees, butterflies, other pollinators, birds