[Buckwheats: The Genus Eriogonum East of the
Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington]
Parsnipflower Buckwheat, Parsnip-flower Buckwheat, Parsnip-flowered Eriogonum, Wyeth Buckwheat
Eriogonum heracleoides var. heracleoides
Synonym: Eriogonum heracleoides var. angustifolium
Wyeth buckwheat as seen along the Umatilla Rim Trail #3080 near Tollgate in the Umatilla N.F........June 24, 2007.
The
photo at right shows the inflorescence of Wyeth buckwheat. Note the involucre
with the long oblong lobes subtending the cluster of whitish flowers. Photographed along the Umatilla Rim Trail #3080 near Tollgate in the Umatilla N.F........June 24, 2007.
Characteristics:
Also known as creamy buckwheat, Wyeth buckwheat is an upright
buckwheat to 10-40 cm tall, with numerous leaves both at the base and on the
stems. Several varieties of this species have a whorl of large cauline leaves
midway up the stem with a smaller whorl of leaves directly below where the inflorescence
branches into an open umbel. The leaves and stems are covered with dense hairs,
although the upper blade surface maybe somewhat greenish. The leaf blades are
linear to oblanceolate in shape with rounded to acute tips, the base of the
blade narrowing gradually to the petiole. The leaves range from 3-8 cm long.
The inflorescence is an umbel that is subtended by a whorl of
leaf-like bracts. The primary rays are either simple or umbellately branched
again. The woolly involucres are bell-shaped with linear to lanceolate lobes
from 2-3 mm long. The involucral lobes may be spreading or reflexed. The glabrous
perianth is creamy or white or occasionally tinged with yellow or rose.
Wyeth buckwheat is grazed by deer, elk and domestic sheep. Small
rodents use the seeds as food.
Varieties:
variety angustifolium: Flowering
stems with bracts at about midstem. Leaves narrow, usually less than 6 mm wide.
Found east of the Cascade Mts. from British Columbia south to northeastern California
and east to western Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Nevada. Infrequently found within
the range of variety heracleoides.
variety heracleoides: Flowering stems with bracts
at about midstem. Leaves 8-15 mm wide. Found in southeastern Washington, northeastern
Oregon, and west-central Idaho.
variety leucophaeum (formerly var. minus): Flowering stems without bracts
below the inflorescence. Found in Chelan, Kittitas and Douglas Counties and
eastward to Spokane County in Washington.
Habitat:
Wyeth buckwheat is found from the lowlands to 6000 ft ridges,
found in both Ponderosa Pine forests and sagebrush, and sandy or gravelly open
areas.
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The photos above show the dorsal surface of
the leaf blades (at left) and ventral surfaces (at right) of Wyeth buckwheat.
Note that the ventral surfaces are covered with a dense coat of whitish hairs
while the upper surface is glabrous or only lightly haired. Both photos were
taken of plants seen near Hat Pt. in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area.......July
8, 1999.
Range:
Wyeth buckwheat is a widespread species, from southern British
Columbia south along the east side of the Cascades to northeast California and
eastward to the Rocky Mts.
Uses:
Wyeth buckwheat should make a nice wildflower for the natural
garden east of the Cascades.
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Close-ups of the inflorescence of wyeth buckwheat as seen about one and one-half miles uphill to the northwest along the valley trail above the Painted Rocks trailhead, Little Spokane River Natural Area........July 5, 2011.
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Wyeth buckwheat blooming at left along the South Loop Road at the upper end of the Rooster Comb, Steens Mountain..........July 9, 2014. The photo at right shows Wyeth buckwheat blooming along the Fremont National Recreation Trail #160 on the west side of Twelvemile Peak, Fremont-Winema National Forest.......July 16, 2022.
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The photo at left shows the floral stem and inflorescence of wyeth buckwheat as seen from meadows near Alder Thicket Campground, Umatilla N.F. in southeastern Washington.........June 25, 2007. Note the whorl of
leaves or large bracts at mid-stem. The photo at right shows wyeth buckwheat thatas seen at Knothead Overlook at the high point of the Knothead Valley Trail, Little Spokane River Natural Area.........May 9, 2016.
The photo above shows a close-up view of the greenish upper leaf surface of Wyeth
buckwheat as see along the Umatilla Rim Trail #3080 near Tollgate in the Umatilla N.F........June 24, 2007.
The photo above shows the branched inflorescence of Wyeth buckwheat
as seen at Indian Rock, Wallowa-Whitman N.F. to the northwest of LaGrande, Or.........July
3, 2001.
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The photo at left shows a nice cluster of wyeth buckwheat as seen from meadows near Alder Thicket Campground, Umatilla N.F. in southeastern Washington.........June 25, 2007. The photo at right shows wyeth buckwheat as seen on the east-facing slopes of the Hart Mt. ridgeline about a mile and a quarter west of Hot Springs Campground, Hart Mt. National Antelope Refuge.........June 9, 2016.
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The two photos above show additional views of wyeth buckwheat as seen at Buckhorn Lookout in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest of northeastern Oregon........July 9, 2007. (Click on each photo to see a larger version of each.)
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Close-up views of wyeth buckwheat as seen in a small borrow pit on Steptoe Butte in eastern Washington........June 22, 2009.
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Parsnipflower buckwheat observed atop Crane Mountain, Fremont-Winema National Forest.......August 1, 2020.
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Additional close-up photos of wyeth buckwheat as seen in Joseph Canyon, in the Chief Joseph Wildlife Area of southern Asotin County, WA.........May 24, 2010.
Parsnipflower buckwheat in bloom along Dry Creek about 200 meters upstream from Cascade Camp, Wenas Creek drainage, northern Yakima County, WA.....June 2, 2023.
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Parsnipflower buckwheat observed at left in scablands along Box Canyon Road about one mile west of Box Canyon, Klickitat Wildlife Area......June 5, 2020. The photo at right shows parsnipflower buckwheat blooming along the Fremont National Recreation Trail #160 on the east side of Crook Peak, Fremont-Winema National Forest......July 17, 2022.
Paul Slichter