Burke: Eriogonum flavum vs. Eriogonum compositum

	Eriogonum flavum	Eriogonum compositum
	yellow buckwheat	arrow-leaf buckwheat, northern buckwheat
Habit	Tufted perennial with several woody branches coming from a stout taproot and covered with dead leaves, and several simple stems to 2 dm. tall top with a compact, multi-rayed umbel and ball-shaped flower clusters.	Stout perennial from a woody taproot, the broad crown somewhat shrubby, the several stems and leaves forming a plant to 5 cm. high and broad.
Leaves	Basal, closely crowded, usually more or less gray-woolly, especially below, linear to narrowly oblanceolate, 3-7 cm. long with a petiole about the same length.	Basal, lanceolate to deltoid, more or less cordate-based, white-woolly beneath and green above, on petioles as long to several times as long as the blade.
Flowers	Flowering stems leafless, 5-20 cm. long; inflorescence a simple umbel, rays up to 3 cm. long, subtended by 4-6 somewhat leafy bracts; involucre covered with soft hairs, cone-shaped, 4-7 mm. long with 4-5 shallow lobes; tepals 4-6 mm. long, usually pale to deep yellow but sometimes rose-tinged, covered with soft, silky hairs, and with a short, stipitate base.	Flowering stems stout and naked, the inflorescence a compound umbel 2-20 cm. broad, with linear bracts at the base of both primary and secondary umbels; involucres 6-10 mm. long, lobed about half their length, the lobes usually reflexed: tepals either creamy-white or lemon-yellow, about 5 mm. long, with a stipe-like base about 1 mm. long.

	Eriogonum flavum	Eriogonum compositum
Identification notes		The usually large, heart-shaped leaves that are green on top and woolly white beneath will usually identify this species.
Flowering time	June-August	May-July
Habitat	Open knolls in grasslands to alpine ridges and scree.	Dry, open areas, rocky slopes and cliffs from low elevations nearly to the subalpine.
Distribution	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in southeastern Washington; Alaska to northeastern Oregon, east to the northern Great Plains. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; Washington to California, east to Idaho. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	E. baileyi, E. cernuum, E. codium, E. compositum, E. douglasii, E. elatum, E. heracleoides, E. maculatum, E. marifolium, E. microtheca, E. niveum, E. nudum, E. ovalifolium, E. pyrolifolium, E. sphaerocephalum, E. strictum, E. thymoides, E. umbellatum, E. vimineum	E. baileyi, E. cernuum, E. codium, E. douglasii, E. elatum, E. flavum, E. heracleoides, E. maculatum, E. marifolium, E. microtheca, E. niveum, E. nudum, E. ovalifolium, E. pyrolifolium, E. sphaerocephalum, E. strictum, E. thymoides, E. umbellatum, E. vimineum
Subordinate taxa	E. flavum var. piperi	E. compositum var. compositum, E. compositum var. lancifolium, E. compositum var. leianthum
Web links	Local floras: BC, OR, WA Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: OR, WA Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Eriogonum compositum

yellow buckwheat

arrow-leaf buckwheat, northern buckwheat

Habit

Tufted perennial with several woody branches coming from a stout taproot and covered with dead leaves, and several simple stems to 2 dm. tall top with a compact, multi-rayed umbel and ball-shaped flower clusters.

Stout perennial from a woody taproot, the broad crown somewhat shrubby, the several stems and leaves forming a plant to 5 cm. high and broad.

Leaves

Basal, closely crowded, usually more or less gray-woolly, especially below, linear to narrowly oblanceolate, 3-7 cm. long with a petiole about the same length.

Basal, lanceolate to deltoid, more or less cordate-based, white-woolly beneath and green above, on petioles as long to several times as long as the blade.

Flowers

Flowering stems leafless, 5-20 cm. long; inflorescence a simple umbel, rays up to 3 cm. long, subtended by 4-6 somewhat leafy bracts;

involucre covered with soft hairs, cone-shaped, 4-7 mm. long with 4-5 shallow lobes;

tepals 4-6 mm. long, usually pale to deep yellow but sometimes rose-tinged, covered with soft, silky hairs, and with a short, stipitate base.

Flowering stems stout and naked, the inflorescence a compound umbel 2-20 cm. broad, with linear bracts at the base of both primary and secondary umbels;

involucres 6-10 mm. long, lobed about half their length, the lobes usually reflexed: tepals either creamy-white or lemon-yellow, about 5 mm. long, with a stipe-like base about 1 mm. long.