Eriogonum caespitosum
Eriogonum caespitosum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name matted buckwheat, mat buckwheat, or cushion desert buckwheat.[1] It is a common perennial plant native to the western United States from California to Montana, especially the Great Basin. Flowering early in the summer,[1] it is also cultivated as a rock garden plant.
| Eriogonum caespitosum | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Polygonaceae |
| Genus: | Eriogonum |
| Species: | E. caespitosum |
| Binomial name | |
| Eriogonum caespitosum | |
The species is a tough perennial plant which grows in flat, woody mats in sand and gravel substrates. It has small, fuzzy gray leaves (under 2.5 centimetres (1 in) long)[1] which are scoop-shaped due to their rolled edges. From the mat emerge short stalks with inflorescences of greenish-yellow and whitish rounded clusters of flowers, which redden with age[1] and hang backwards over the edge of the involucre. Some of the flowers are bisexual and up to a centimeter wide each, and some are only staminate and much smaller.
References
- Taylor, Ronald J. (1994) [1992]. Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary (rev. ed.). Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Pub. Co. p. 32. ISBN 0-87842-280-3. OCLC 25708726.