HERCULES BUCKWHEAT

Eriogonum heracleoides

Buckwheat Family (Polygonaceae)

This rather substantial plant is great for a border planting or mid-height perennial bed. It forms large, dome-shaped mounds of bicolored leaves--bright green on top and cottony white beneath. In midsummer, the plants become even more noticeable, with numerous branched stalks bearing flat-topped masses of cream-colored blossoms. These slowly turn pink with age and finally rusty red, for an exceptionally long period of bloom. Like most buckwheat, Hercules buckwheat is a magnet for butterflies and other interesting pollinators. It combines well with mountain puccoon, Lewis flax, and Utah sweetvetch, and can also be used in mountain meadow plantings. It likes fertile soils and occasional summer watering.