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Summary
Duration	Perennial
Growth Habit	Subshrub, Forb/herb
U.S. Nativity	Native to U.S.
Federal T/E Status
National Wetland Indicator
Morphology/Physiology
Active Growth Period	Spring, Summer, Fall
After Harvest Regrowth Rate
Bloat	None
C:N Ratio	High
Coppice Potential	No
Fall Conspicuous	No
Fire Resistant	No
Flower Color	White
Flower Conspicuous	Yes
Foliage Color	Green
Foliage Porosity Summer	Dense
Foliage Porosity Winter	Dense
Foliage Texture	Medium
Fruit/Seed Color	Brown
Fruit/Seed Conspicuous	No
Growth Form	Colonizing
Growth Rate	Slow
Height at 20 Years, Maximum (feet)	1
Height, Mature (feet)	1.5
Known Allelopath	No
Leaf Retention	No
Lifespan	Long
Low Growing Grass	No
Nitrogen Fixation
Resprout Ability	Yes
Shape and Orientation	Decumbent
Toxicity	None
Growth Requirements
Adapted to Coarse Textured Soils	Yes
Adapted to Fine Textured Soils	No
Adapted to Medium Textured Soils	Yes
Anaerobic Tolerance	Low
CaCO3 Tolerance	High
Cold Stratification Required	Yes
Drought Tolerance	High
Fertility Requirement	Low
Fire Tolerance	Low
Frost Free Days, Minimum	120
Hedge Tolerance	None
Moisture Use	Low
pH, Minimum	6.5
pH, Maximum	8
Planting Density per Acre, Minimum	2700
Planting Density per Acre, Maximum	7000
Precipitation, Minimum	6
Precipitation, Maximum	18
Root Depth, Minimum (inches)	12
Salinity Tolerance	None
Shade Tolerance	Intermediate
Temperature, Minimum (°F)	-23
Reproduction
Bloom Period	Late Summer
Commercial Availability	Routinely Available
Fruit/Seed Abundance	Low
Fruit/Seed Period Begin	Summer
Fruit/Seed Period End	Fall
Fruit/Seed Persistence	No
Propagated by Bare Root	Yes
Propagated by Bulb	No
Propagated by Container	Yes
Propagated by Corm	No
Propagated by Cuttings	No
Propagated by Seed	Yes
Propagated by Sod	No
Propagated by Sprigs	No
Propagated by Tubers	No
Seed per Pound	315000
Seed Spread Rate	Slow
Seedling Vigor	Medium
Small Grain	No
Vegetative Spread Rate	None
Suitability/Use
Berry/Nut/Seed Product	No
Christmas Tree Product	No
Fodder Product	No
Fuelwood Product	None
Lumber Product	No
Naval Store Product	No
Nursery Stock Product	Yes
Palatable Browse Animal	High
Palatable Graze Animal	Low
Palatable Human	No
Post Product	No
Protein Potential	Low
Pulpwood Product	No
Veneer Product	No

Summary
Duration	Perennial
Growth Habit	Subshrub, Forb/herb
U.S. Nativity	Native to U.S.
Federal T/E Status
National Wetland Indicator
Morphology/Physiology
Active Growth Period	Spring, Summer, Fall
After Harvest Regrowth Rate
Bloat
C:N Ratio	High
Coppice Potential	No
Fall Conspicuous	No
Fire Resistant	No
Flower Color	White
Flower Conspicuous	Yes
Foliage Color	Green
Foliage Porosity Summer	Dense
Foliage Porosity Winter	Dense
Foliage Texture	Medium
Fruit/Seed Color	Brown
Fruit/Seed Conspicuous	No
Growth Form	Colonizing
Growth Rate	Slow
Height at 20 Years, Maximum (feet)	2
Height, Mature (feet)	2
Known Allelopath	No
Leaf Retention	No
Lifespan	Long
Low Growing Grass	No
Nitrogen Fixation
Resprout Ability	Yes
Shape and Orientation	Decumbent
Toxicity	None
Growth Requirements
Adapted to Coarse Textured Soils	Yes
Adapted to Fine Textured Soils	No
Adapted to Medium Textured Soils	Yes
Anaerobic Tolerance	None
CaCO3 Tolerance	High
Cold Stratification Required	Yes
Drought Tolerance	High
Fertility Requirement	Low
Fire Tolerance	Low
Frost Free Days, Minimum	120
Hedge Tolerance	None
Moisture Use	Low
pH, Minimum	6.5
pH, Maximum	8
Planting Density per Acre, Minimum	1200
Planting Density per Acre, Maximum	2700
Precipitation, Minimum	6
Precipitation, Maximum	18
Root Depth, Minimum (inches)	12
Salinity Tolerance	None
Shade Tolerance	Intolerant
Temperature, Minimum (°F)	-23
Reproduction
Bloom Period	Early Summer
Commercial Availability	Routinely Available
Fruit/Seed Abundance	Medium
Fruit/Seed Period Begin	Summer
Fruit/Seed Period End	Fall
Fruit/Seed Persistence	Yes
Propagated by Bare Root	Yes
Propagated by Bulb	No
Propagated by Container	Yes
Propagated by Corm	No
Propagated by Cuttings	No
Propagated by Seed	Yes
Propagated by Sod	No
Propagated by Sprigs	No
Propagated by Tubers	No
Seed per Pound	300000
Seed Spread Rate	Moderate
Seedling Vigor	Medium
Small Grain	No
Vegetative Spread Rate	None
Suitability/Use
Berry/Nut/Seed Product	No
Christmas Tree Product	No
Fodder Product	No
Fuelwood Product	None
Lumber Product	No
Naval Store Product	No
Nursery Stock Product	Yes
Palatable Browse Animal	High
Palatable Graze Animal	Low
Palatable Human	No
Post Product	No
Protein Potential	Low
Pulpwood Product	No
Veneer Product	No

 

Kingdom  Plantae -- Plants

Subkingdom  Tracheobionta -- Vascular plants

Superdivision  Spermatophyta -- Seed plants

Division  Magnoliophyta -- Flowering plants

Class  Magnoliopsida -- Dicotyledons

Subclass  Caryophyllidae

Order  Polygonales

Family  Polygonaceae -- Buckwheat family

Genus  Eriogonum Michx. -- buckwheat P

Species  Eriogonum niveum Dougl. ex Benth. -- snow buckwheat P

 

Alternate Names

canyon heather

 

Uses

Erosion control/reclamation/landscape: Snow buckwheat is a very successful pioneer species (Tiedemann, et al 1997).  It tolerates extremely droughty soils and is a common occupant of dry, rocky southern exposures.  It is an excellent candidate for stabilizing skeletal soils exposed in road cuts, and mine spoils that lack soil development. 

 

Snow buckwheat grows to 0.5 m (20 in.) in height in most areas but may be as much as 1m tall and 1m wide on better sites.  The canopy, while quite short, can effectively protect the soil from erosive winds.

 

Snow buckwheat is a very useful xeriscaping plant, because it requires very little moisture and does not become weedy.  It can be shaped by careful pruning to produce a more formal looking round-full plant.   The bloom period is very long and the white flowers take on a pink blush in late fall.

 

Grazing/rangeland/wildlife: Snow buckwheat has limited domestic livestock grazing value.  Sheep will utilize the tips of the flower heads and ignore the rest

of the plant.  (USDA Forest Service Range Plant Handbook). 

 

Mule deer in north-central Washington are reported to make heavy use of snow buckwheat in the winter and early spring months (Burrell 1982).  Bighorn sheep also make heavy use of snow buckwheat, and it decreases in response to bighorn sheep grazing (Wikeem and Pitt 1991).  Small birds and mammals use the canopy for cover. 

 

Several species of bees and butterfies utilize snow buckwheat as a foodstuff, including the endangered Mormon Metalmark butterfly (Apodemia mormo) (Royal British Columbia Museum 1995).

 

Ethnobotany:  A tea brewed from the roots of snow buckwheat and a related species, Indian tobacco (E. heracleoides) were used by Native Americans as a diarrhea remedy.  Boiled roots and stems were used to treat a variety of ailments including cuts, colds, and blood poisoning (Parish et al. 1996).  It has been suggested that the Columbia Basin buckwheats were also used to develop dyes by the Native Americans (Sackschewsky and Downs 2001).

 

Status

This is a native species.  Consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant’s current status, such as state noxious status and wetland indicator values.

 

Description

General: Buckwheat Family (Polygonaceae). Snow buckwheat is a deciduous, low growing, evergreen halfshrub.

 

The crown gives rise to numerous short-woody stems.  Leaves attached to the main stems are short and generally oblong.  The bottoms of the leaves are gray and very tomentose while the tops are only slightly hairy.  The flowering stems are tomentose and as much as 200mm in length.  Leaves on the flowering stems are short and narrow.  The flower heads may be as long as 200mm and generally ascending.  The flowers are white or light pink and turn brown at seed maturity in the fall.  The seeds are small and shaped like urns.  There are approximately 943,000 seeds/kg (427,000 seeds/pound). 

 

Distribution

Hitchcock et al. (1964) described the distribution of snow buckwheat as the east slope of the Cascade Mountains from British Columbia, south to central Oregon, east to west-central Idaho. For current distribution of this species and its relatives, consult the Plant Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site. 

 

Adaptation

Cold Hardiness Zone: 5a-7a.

Mean Annual Precipitation: 150-460mm (6-18 in.)

Elevation: 150-1500m (500-4900 ft.)

MLRA: 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 23, 24, and 25

Soil:  Well-drained sands to clays

 

Snow buckwheat is common in big sage (Artemisia tridentata), antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata), and open Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) areas.  It also occurs in the canyon grasslands of the Snake and Columbia River systems.

 

It is primarily found in full sun but will grow in partial shade such as open Ponderosa pine hillsides.

 

Snow buckwheat is common on steep slopes and rocky scabland soils that support little competing vegetation.  Its taproot enables it to acquire moisture percolating through the rock cracks.  It occurs much less frequently on deep, moist soils.

 

Species often associated with snow buckwheat include the following: big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata - probably wyomingensis, vasciana, and tridentata subspecies), antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata), Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis), bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata), sand dropseed (Sporobolus airoides), Snake River wheatgrass (Elymus wawawaiensis), Sandberg bluegrass (Poa secunda), Indian ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides), and needle-and-thread (Nassella comata).

 

Establishment

Seeding: Snow buckwheat should be seeded in late fall (Tiedemann and Driver 1983).  Standard reclamation drills and broadcast seeders are capable of handling snow buckwheat seed, however, ensure the seed is kept shallow (max. 6mm deep).  Germination in the wild occurs during cool-wet conditions thus allowing the seedlings to develop while moisture is readily available and evaporative rates are low. 

 

Transplanting: Rooted transplants are easily outplanted.  The soil should be at least 75% of field capacity when planted.  Once fully established, snow buckwheat is long-lived and very persistent.

 

Management

Snow buckwheat is a low maintenance plant once established.  Cheatgrass and other winter annuals should be controlled the first year to allow good establishment.  Observations have shown that snow buckwheat withstands severe defoliation if the woody stems and crowns are not damaged.

 

Digging up plants is not advised because it is difficult to extract a large enough portion of the root to support the plant.  Also, removing plants in the wild severely disturbs the site and leaves it especially prone to weed invasion.

 

Its tolerance to fire is unknown, however, most Eriogonum species which remain green year round are severely damaged by fire.

 

Environmental Concerns

Snow buckwheat is long-lived, spreading via seed in the wild.  It is not considered to be a "weedy" or invasive species, but can spread into adjoining vegetative communities under ideal climatic and environmental conditions.

 

Propagation 

Snow buckwheat seed should be grown in areas where it is native or areas that have long growing seasons.  Weeds can be controlled by between-row cultivation.  No herbicides are labeled for snow buckwheat seed fields. 

 

Seed is fully ripe when the flowers turn brown.  Shattering can be severe at full maturity.  Mechanical harvest is possible providing that the cutting bar is set high enough to not damage the crown.  Observations have indicated that cutting back the woody stems reduces plant life and reduces seed production the following year. 

 

Seed shelf life can be as short at 12 months if not properly stored.  Seed is best stored in cool-dry conditions.

 

Plants are easy to produce for out-planting.  Seed should be planted in mid-winter and allow for at least 10 weeks growth before hardening.  Avoid potting media that does not drain well, and do not over-water.

 

Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

'Umatilla' snow buckwheat was selected by the Pullman Plant Materials Center and released in 1991.  It was developed from a native collection made in Umatilla County, Oregon.  It is primarily recommended for use in rangeland restoration plantings, upland wildlife habitat improvement plantings in semi-arid environments, and soil stabilization plantings on sites that will not support dense populations of conventional conservation species.  It has performed very well on mine spoils in central Washington (Zamora and Leier 1993).   It is also well suited for xeriscape plantings, particularly where a native halfshrub is desired. 

 

Limited quantities of Foundation seed are available to growers from the Pullman Plant Materials Center.

 

References

Burrell, G.C. 1982. Winter diets of mule deer in relation to bitterbrush abundance.  J. Range Manage. 36:508-510.

 

Hitchcock, C.L., A. Cronquist, M. Ownbey, and J.W. Thompson 1964. Vascular plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press, Seattle, Washington.

 

Parish, R., Coupe, R. and D. Lloyd 1996. Plants of southern interior British Columbia. Lone Pine Press, Vancouver, B.C., Canada.

 

Royal British Columbia Museum 1995. >https://rbcm1.rbcm.gov.bc.ca/end_species/species/mmetalm.html<

 

Sackschewsky, M.R. and J.L. Downs 2001. Vascular plants of the Handford site. U.S. Dept. of Energy, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Rep. 13688. Richland, Washington.

 

Tiedemann, A.R. and C.H. Driver. 1983. Snow eriogonum; a native halfshrub to regetate winter game ranges.  Reclam and Reveg Res. 2:31-39.

 

Tiedemann, A.R., S.M. Lambert, J.R. Carlson, C.J. Perry, N.L. Shaw, B.L. Welch, and C.H. Driver 1997. ‘Umatilla’ snow buckwheat for rangeland restoration in the interior Pacific Northwest.  Rangelands. 19:22-25.

 

Wikeem, B.M. and M.D. Pitt 1991. Grazing effects and range trend assessment on California bighorn sheep range. J. Range Manage. 44:466-470.

 

USDA, Forest Service 1937.  Range Plant Handbook.

 

USDA NRCS 2003.  The PLANTS database.  Version: 030106.  <https://plants.usda.gov>.  National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

 

Zamora, B.A. and J.W. Leier 1993. The potential of snowy buckwheat (Eriogonum niveum) for revegetation of xeric mine spoil sites in the Pacific Northwest.  IN: Abstracts 8^th Wildland Shrub Symp. Arid Land Restoration, Las Vegas, Nevada.

 

Prepared By

Mark Stannard and Wayne Crowder

USDA, NRCS, Plant Materials Center, Pullman, Washington

 

Species Coordinator

Mark Stannard

USDA, NRCS, Plant Materials Center, Pullman, Washington

 

Edited 06jan03 dgo; 30jan03 jsp; 09jun03 ahv; 06jun06 jsp

 

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS Web site<https://plants.usda.gov> or the Plant Materials Program Web site <https://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov>

 

 

 

Attribution:  U.S. Department of Agriculture