Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Share

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
rate this answer
Not Yet Rated

Friday - March 21, 2008

From: La Pine, OR
Region: Northwest
Topic: Herbs/Forbs
Title: Eriogonum spergulinum, wild buckwheat
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

Do you have any information on the wildflower Eriogonum spergulinum???

ANSWER:

Well, frankly, not a whole lot. Eriogonum spergulinum (spurry buckwheat) is shown on the USDA Plant Profile as being confined to California and, in fact, endemic to a few counties in California. It is not in the Wildflower Center Plant Database, but that doesn't mean it's not native; apparently, it is. This University of Maryland article by James L. Reveal on Taxonomic Treatment of Eriagonoidaea (Polygonaceae) indicates the counties where it is found in California, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon, which includes your county of Deschutes. We found a website from CalPhotos with pictures of the various parts of the plant and flowers. Presumably, something called "buckwheat" can also count as a wildflower. If you are looking for seed sources for this plant, go to this site of native seed suppliers for Oregon, contact the nurseries and see if they carry the seed or can suggest a source.

 

More Herbs/Forbs Questions

Plants for freestanding water in Oklahoma
July 28, 2013 - I have an overflowing gutter and the ground below becomes a muddy hole. I'd like to put a basin or pot in/or above the ground with a rain chain. Are there any plants--shrubs or otherwise that flouris...
view the full question and answer

Need suggestions for landscaping along a creek in Lenoir, NC
July 25, 2011 - I live in Lenoir, NC and would like to landscape my creek bank that is about 90 feet long and is 200 feet from my house. I thought about evergeen bushes maybe rhododendron; some grasses; a few trees ...
view the full question and answer

Grapeland, TX is NOT Grapevine, TX
July 25, 2013 - I submitted a question and today received my answer. I do thank you for this valuable service. However, I stated that I lived in East Texas in GRAPELAND, Tx. Nan Hampton answered me and said that a...
view the full question and answer

Why is fall the best time to plant Bluebonnet seeds?
May 29, 2015 - Bluebonnet plants drop their seeds in late May or early June. Why is it recommended to broadcast Bluebonnet seeds in October which is 5 months after the plant drops its seeds?
view the full question and answer

Need to identify hemp-like plant in Bastrop, TX.
June 09, 2014 - What is the large stalky, hemp-like plant that populates our creek bottoms and ditches here in Central Texas? It has large 5-6 in. lobed leaves, and a fibrous central stalk that gets up to 7 ft tall. ...
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.