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Eriogonum
Also called Wild Buckwheat, Buckwheats, Wild Buckwheats
Eriogonum is a genus of about several hundred wildflowers and shrubs in the buckwheat family (Polygonaceae), native mainly to western North America, with commonly grown members such as California buckwheat (E. fasciculatum). It is grown in dry, sunny gardens and for pollinators and butterfly larvae.
Eriogonum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. The genus is found in North America and is known as wild buckwheat. This is a highly species-rich genus, and indications are that active speciation is continuing. It includes some common wildflowers, such as the California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum).
The genus derived its name from the Greek word erion meaning 'wool' and gonu meaning 'knee or joint'. The author of the genus, Michaux, explained the name as describing the first named species of the genus (E. tomentosum) as a wooly plant with sharply bent stems ("planta lanata, geniculata"). Despite sharing the common name "buckwheat", Eriogonum is part of a different genus from the cultivated European buckwheat and than other plant species also called wild buckwheat.
Eriogonum species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths). An example of a butterfly that uses this plant for food is the Lycaena heteronea. Several of these are monophagous, meaning their caterpillars only feed on this genus, sometimes just on a single taxon of Eriogonum. Wild buckwheat flowers are also an important source of food for these and other Lepidoptera. In some cases, the relationship is so close that Eriogonum and dependent Lepidoptera are in danger of coextinction.
Some varieties of eriogonum, such as California buckwheat were and still are used as medicinal and food crops by Native American tribes.
Abert's buckwheat · Santa Cruz Island buckwheat · Coastal buckwheat · Eastern Mojave buckwheat · St. Catherine's lace · Seaside buckwheat · Snow Mountain buckwheat · Naked buckwheat · Hoary buckwheat · Mt. Diablo buckwheat
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Eriogonum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
