Thyme-leaved buckwheat is a perennial shrublet, forming mats on the ground. It may range in height from 5-15 cm tall. The stems are erect, with a whorl of leaves at mid stem.
The numerous basal leaves are linear to linear-spatulate, 3-10 mm long. They are whitish hairy below, less so above (See photo at right.).
The inflorescence is a single spherical cluster with numerous flowers at the top of the stem. The flower color ranches from creamy to pinkish, to occasionally yellow. The flower buds may be reddish tinged. The outer surface of the individual flowers are copiously woolly-hairy upon inspection with a hand lens.
Thyme-leaved buckwheat is found on dry rocky soil of open ridges to sagebrush plains.
Thyme-leaved buckwheat may be found from Chelan County southward along the eastern Cascades into northern Oregon, and eastward into Baker county, OR, and southwestern Oregon.
In the Columbia River Gorge, it may be found at about 2700' at the crest of the Columbia Hills north of the Dallesport, WA.
The photo above shows a rosette of leaves at the end of a short branch of thyme-leaved buckwheat as seen at Wilson Creek (BLM) just south of Highway 2 in central Washington......June 25, 2006.
- 
- 