Abert's Buckwheat
Author: Ray Bowers

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Species: Eriogonum abertianum

Description:
Abert's buckwheat is a 10 to 50 cm (2 to 7.5 in) tall annual herbaceous plant. The flat oval leaves on the branched stem have light colored hairs.

Geographic range:
Abert's buckwheat is found from Arizona to western Texas , and south into northern Mexico.

Habitat:
Abert's buckwheat is found on dry sandy plains and gravely foothills from 450 to 2,130m (1,500 to 7,000 ft) in elevation.

Reproduction and Development:
Abert's buckwheat is a monoecious plant that blooms from March through October. The flowers have three to six petal-like sepals, no petals, and nine stamens. The flowers are found in small dense round clumps of many flowers at the end of the stem. The seeds are triangular in shape.

• The Native Americans have used a tea made from the flowers of Abert's buckwheat as a diuretic and a mild astringent.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Polygonales
Family: Polygonaceae
Genus: Eriogonum
Species: Eriogonum abertianum

References:
Allred, Kelly W. 2000. A Field Guide to the Flora of the Jornada Plain. Las Cruces: NMSU Department of Animal and Range Science.

Kearney, Thomas H. and Robert H. Peebles. 1951. Arizona Flora. Berkeley, California: University of California Press.

Moore, Michael. 1989. Medicinal Plants of the Desert and Canyon West. Santa Fe, New Mexico : Museum of New Mexico Press.

Niehaus, Theodore F. 1984. A Field Guide to Southwestern and Texas Wildflowers. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Wooton, E.O. and Paul C. Standley. 1915. Flora of New Mexico. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium, Vol 19. Washington: Government Printing Office.

Related Terms: Magnoliophyta, Magnoliospida