Bloomin’ Blues: Sulphur buckwheat endemic to the West
Published 6:00 am Thursday, August 12, 2021
- Sulphur buckwheat, Eriogonum umbellatum.
Name: Sulphur Buckwheat
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Scientific Name: Eriogonum umbellatum
This highly variable plant is found in varied habits, from sagebrush desert and foothills to alpine ridges, talus slopes and rock crevices. It is found from British Columbia to Alberta and Montana, and south to California to New Mexico. In the U.S., there are at least 47 known varieties of the plant, of which 11 are in Oregon.
All the varieties of this plant have their flowers borne in umbels or compound umbels. They may be shrubs or herbs, and the flowers vary from white to yellow or red. The striking flower umbels in the Blues include varieties with large, erect, bright yellow umbels, others with cream-colored umbels, and low-growing, yellow to red umbels on the ground.
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Many Indian tribes had medicinal uses for some yellow-flowered varieties of this plant and also used the leaves for a tea. Medicinal uses included treatment of ptomaine poisoning, colds, sores, stomachaches, burns, lameness, rheumatism and maternal fevers following a birth.
Where to find: I’ve seen this plant along the roadside on Highway 11 into Pendleton, and along Ruckel Ridge at upper elevations in the Blues.
Bruce Barnes directs Flora ID, producing plant ID software, found at flora-id.org. Reach him at flora.id@wtechlink.us.