Common Name: BUCKWHEAT FAMILY
Habit: Annual to shrub [tree]. Stem: nodes swollen or not. Leaf: simple, basal or cauline, generally alternate; ocreae present or 0, generally scarious, persistent or not. Inflorescence: flower clusters in axillary to terminal cyme-, panicle-, raceme-, spike-, umbel- or head-like arrangements, entire inflorescence or main inflorescence branches generally subtended by bracts ("inflorescence bracts"); peduncles present or 0; flower clusters in Eriogoneae-Eriogonoideae subtended by involucre of >= 1 free or +- fused, sometimes awn-tipped bracts ("involucre bracts") or, in Polygonoideae and rarely in Eriogonoideae, not (if bracts completely fused, involucre "tubular"); pedicels in Eriogoneae each often subtended by 2 free, transparent, linear bractlets or in Polygonoideae all subtended by 2+ fused, membranous, wide bractlets. Flower: generally bisexual, small, 1--200 per node; perianth parts 2--6, generally in 2 whorls, free or basally fused, generally petal-like, often +- concave adaxially, often darker at midvein, often turning +- red or +- brown in age; stamens [1]3 or 6--9 in 2 whorls; ovary superior, 1-chambered, ovule 1, styles 1--3. Fruit: achenes, included in or exserted from perianth, generally 3-angled, ovoid or elliptic, generally glabrous.
Genera In Family: 48 genera, +- 1200 species: worldwide, especially northern temperate; some cultivated for food (Coccoloba, sea-grape; Fagopyrum, Rheum, Rumex) or ornamental (Antigonon, lovechain; Coccoloba; Muehlenbeckia; Persicaria; Polygonum), a few timbered (Coccoloba; Triplaris). Several (Emex; Fallopia; Persicaria; Polygonum; Rumex) are weeds. Note: Treatment of genera in Eriogonoideae based on monographic work of James L. Reveal. Involucre number throughout is number (1--many) per ultimate grouping, at tips of ultimate branches; flower number is per flower cluster or involucre, unless otherwise stated. Fagopyrum esculentum Moench not naturalized, considered an historical waif (or garden weed +- presently), therefore not treated.
eFlora Treatment Author: Mihai Costea, except as noted
Scientific Editor: Thomas J. Rosatti, Bruce G. Baldwin.

Common Name: WILD BUCKWHEAT
Habit: Annual to shrub, matted or not. Stem: prostrate to erect, occasionally 0, glabrous or hairy, occasionally glandular. Leaf: basal, sheathing (on stem above basal, beneath other, +- non-sheathing cauline), or cauline, alternate, opposite, or whorled; blades linear to +- round, generally longer than wide, margins flat, wavy, or rolled under; ocreae 0. Inflorescence: variable, glabrous or hairy, occasionally glandular; peduncles 0 or erect to reflexed (pointed down); involucres 1 or in clusters, tubular, glabrous or hairy, teeth generally 4--10, awns 0. Flower: (2)6--100(200), with a stalk-like base ("flower stipe" or "stipe") or not; perianth generally white to red or yellow, glabrous or hairy, occasionally glandular, lobes 6, generally entire; stamens 9. Fruit: generally brown or black, generally obconic, glabrous or hairy; embryo curved or straight.
Etymology: (Greek: woolly knees, for hairy nodes of 1st sp. named) Note: One of largest genera in California; stem in descriptions refers to the main stem(s), not branches of inflorescence. A perennial herb allied to Eriogonum austrinum (S. Stokes) Reveal and Eriogonum moranii Reveal of east-central Baja California, with spreading (rather than reflexed or erect) involucres on peduncles < 2 mm, occurring in DMtns (Bristol, Granite mountains), has been known for nearly 25 years yet remains undescribed. Eriogonum puberulum moved to Johanneshowellia.
eFlora Treatment Author: James L. Reveal & Thomas J. Rosatti