General

A perennial forb or subshrub with a branching woody stem, 4 to 24 inches in height.

Leaves

Light green to blue-grayish, can be covered with dense white hairs. Lance shape 1 to 2 inches long, 4 to 15 times longer than their width.

Flowers

Creamy yellow or white with six petals in simple or compound umbels on erect stems.

Bloom

May through July or later in higher elevations.

Ecology

Grows in shrub-steppe, dry forest openings and ridges at 7,000 feet or lower.

Pollinators

Attracts butterflies, bees and other insects. Oregon Bee Atlas participants have recorded mason bees (Osmia) and nomad cuckoo bees (Nomada) from this species in Harney County.

References

• Eriogonum heracleoides in the USDA Plant Database
• U.S. Forest Service plant profile for Eriogonum heracleoides
• Eriogonum heracleoides in the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center plant database
• California Native Plant Society parsnipflower buckwheat plant profile
• Turner, M. and Kuhlmann, E. 2014. Trees and Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon