[Buckwheats: The Genus Eriogonum in the Columbia River Gorge of Oregon and Washington]

Rush Buckwheat, Tall Buckwheat, Tall Woolly Buckwheat

Eriogonum elatum var. elatum

Synonym: Eriogonum elatum var. limonifolium

Rush Buckwheat, Tall Buckwheat, Tall Woolly Buckwheat: Eriogonum elatum var. elatum (Synonym: Eriogonum elatum var. limonifolium)

The photo above shows a close-up of the flowers of tall buckwheat as seen from the Columbia Hills to the northeast of The Dalles, OR.......July 7, 2006.
Rush Buckwheat, Tall Buckwheat, Tall Woolly Buckwheat: Eriogonum elatum var. elatum (Synonym: Eriogonum elatum var. limonifolium)The photo at right shows a close-up of the involucel of tall buckwheat as it can be found at the crest of the Columbia Hills in the Columbia River Gorge........July 7, 2006. Note the triangular shape of the the lobes of the involucel.
Characteristics:

Tall buckwheat is a large, sturdy wildflower, with large lanceolate or arrowhead-shaped basal leaves, one to several erect stems with no cauline leaves, and a two to three-branched open cyme. The leaves may be somewhat tomentose, but the plants typically appear to be mostly green. The leaves range in length from 7-15 cm long, with the petiole about equal in length to the blade..

The inflorescence is large, branched, and open. The flowers are typically creamy, pink in the bud, and aging to a red color. Typical tall buckwheats are as much as 80 cm tall. This is one of the easiest of the Eriogonoums to identify.

Habitat:

Tall buckwheat may be found from the sagebrush desert to open mountain slopes below 7000 feet.

Range:

Tall buckwheat may be found from north-central Washington (Okanogan County) south along the eastern Cascade slope to northeast California, found sparsely south to Mono County, California, and east to Idaho and western Nevada.

In the Columbia River Gorge, tall buckwheat may be found between the elevations of 100'-3700' from near Wind and Dog Mountains in the west to east of Horsethief Butte.

Rush Buckwheat, Tall Buckwheat, Tall Woolly Buckwheat: Eriogonum elatum var. elatum (Synonym: Eriogonum elatum var. limonifolium) - Rush Buckwheat, Tall Buckwheat, Tall Woolly Buckwheat: Eriogonum elatum var. elatum (Synonym: Eriogonum elatum var. limonifolium)

The photo at left shows the form of tall buckwheat as it can be found amongst tall prairie bunchgrasses at the crest of the Columbia Hills........July 7, 2006. The photo at right also shows the open-branched form of tall buckwheat as seen on basalt bluffs above the Crawford Oaks Trailhead, Columbia Hills Historical State Park.....December 31, 2022.

umbellet of Rush Buckwheat, Tall Buckwheat, Tall Woolly Buckwheat: Eriogonum elatum var. elatum (Synonym: Eriogonum elatum var. limonifolium) - Inflorescence of Rush Buckwheat, Tall Buckwheat, Tall Woolly Buckwheat: Eriogonum elatum var. elatum (Synonym: Eriogonum elatum var. limonifolium)

The photo at right shows a close-up view of one of the umbellets of tall buckwheat as seen on the slopes above the Crawford Oaks Trailhead, Columbia Hills State Park.........October 6, 2016. The photo at right shows a close-up view of one of the umbellets of tall buckwheat as seen on the slopes above the Crawford Oaks Trailhead, Columbia Hills State Park.........October 14, 2018.

Rush Buckwheat, Tall Buckwheat, Tall Woolly Buckwheat: Eriogonum elatum var. elatum (Synonym: Eriogonum elatum var. limonifolium) - Rush Buckwheat, Tall Buckwheat, Tall Woolly Buckwheat: Eriogonum elatum var. elatum (Synonym: Eriogonum elatum var. limonifolium)

Tall buckwheat fading out of bloom along the Military Road Trail at Columbia Hills Historical State Park.......November 16, 2019.

Close-up of tall buckwheat flower cluster. Photo taken at Catherine Creek in the Columbia River Gorge........July 11, 1991.
Paul Slichter