Index / Search / Eriogonum microthecum

§1 Plant — species · Polygonaceae

Eriogonum microthecum Nutt.

vernacular slender buckwheat


USDA
ERMI4
GBIF
7983280
Rank
species
slender buckwheat (Eriogonum microthecum)
Platephotograph · Patrick SilbeyCC BY-NC source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Habit and range

Growth habit
Shrub, Subshrub
Duration
Perennial
Group
Dicot
Family
Polygonaceae Juss.
Genus
Eriogonum
§2a

Native status, by region

  • L48 Lower 48 States Native

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
High
Shade
High
Moisture use
Low
Fire
Medium
Salinity
None
Anaerobic
None
CaCO₃
Medium
Hedging
None
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
-38 °F minimum
Frost-free days
140 min.
Precipitation
10–26 in/yr
pH range
5.8–8.5
Root depth
12 in min.
Fertility need
Low
Soil texture
coarse, medium
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Single Crown
Growth rate
Moderate
Lifespan
Long
Mature height
1.1 ft
Height @ 20 y
1 ft
Foliage texture
Fine
Foliage colour
Green
Porosity (summer)
Porous
Porosity (winter)
Porous
Flower colour
Purple
Fruit colour
Brown
Fire resistant
No
N fixation
None
Toxicity
None
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Mid Summer
Seed abundance
Medium
Seed begins
Summer
Seed ends
Fall
Spread rate
Slow
Stratify
Yes
Seeds / lb
300,000
Propagation
seed, bare root, container
§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability
No Known Source
Nursery stock
No
Browse palatability
Low
Graze palatability
Low
Palatable, human
No
Protein potential
Low
Lumber
No
Christmas tree
No

§4Montana distribution

Recorded in 8 of 56 Montana counties.


§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/ERMI4 ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/7983280 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T16:28:53Z