Tiehm's Buckwheat

Eriogonum tiehmii is a member of the Polygonaceae (buckwheat family). It is a low growing perennial herb forming a dense compact mat up to 10.8 inches (in; 30 centimeters (cm)) across and 6 in (16 cm) high. Leaves are only at the base of the plant, blueish gray in color, elliptic, and gray tomentose, or hairy, on both surfaces. Tight balls of flowers arise from a leafless, hairy stem (i.e., the inflorescence or flowering stalk). The tepals (i.e., components of the flower that are similar looking and cannot be distinguished into sepals and petals) are light yellow to cream, aging lighter and/or turning red with age. Eriogonum tiehmii is the only buckwheat in the subgenus Eucycla known to have well defined stalked glands on the outer surfaces of its tepals.