Eriogonum reniforme Torr. & Frém.

Kidney-leaf buckwheat

Desert trumpet vs. kidney-leaf buckwheat

	Eriogonum inflatum	You are here Eriogonum reniforme
Common Name	desert trumpet	kidney-leaf buckwheat
Plant	Up to 2′ (60 cm) in height. It’s distinguishing characteristic is the inflated stems, which I assumed were for storage of water. Pro botanists assumed these expanded regions were galls. Some insects secrete hormones that cause a plant to grow abnormally, producing galls: a house on demand for raising baby bugs. But this isn’t the case either. If the Wikipedia article is right, the expanded areas house carbon dioxide gas, which plays an as-yet unknown role in the plant’s life cycle. The stem inflation is less likely to occur later in the season. Area natives sometimes made makeshift pipes from the hollow stems, hence the common name indian pipeweed.	1¾–16″ (5–40 cm) high. While desert trumpet has inflated stems, kidney-leaf buckwheat does not.
Leaves	Desert trumpet is drought deciduous: it frequently drops its leaves entirely when it is dry, but the green stems are also capable of photosynthesis, sustaining the plant.	Leaves are basal. They are round-, spade-, or kidney-shaped.
Flowers	Tiny yellow or pink flowers, with greenish or reddish midribs, are 1/16–⅛″ (2–3 mm) in size.	Rounded cymes 1¾–14″ (5–35 cm) around are comprised of very small yellow flowers, 1/32–1/16″ (1.5–2.5 mm), that turn reddish as they age. Flowers appear from February to August.
Fruit	Achenes are light brown to brown, and roughly lens-shaped.	Achenes brown, lens-shaped, and ~1/32″ (0.8–1 mm) long.
Range/ Zones
Habitats	Creosote bush scrub, Joshua tree woodland, sagebrush scrub, pinyon-juniper woodland, between -50 and 6500'	Creosote bush scrub, Joshua tree woodland, at elevations below 5000′ (1.5 km).

Eriogonum reniforme description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.

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