American Pipeweed, Desert trumpet
Eriogonum inflatum
Family: Polygonaceae
What it is like
Eriogonum inflatum is a PERENNIAL growing to 0.6 m (2ft). It is in flower from August to October. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs). Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.
Height (m): 0.6
Where it is found
Sandy to gravelly washes, flats, and slopes, mixed grassland, saltbush, creosote bush, mesquite, and sagebrush communities, pinyon and/or juniper woodlands at elevations of-30 - 1800 metres.
Southwestern N. America - Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, N.Mexico, Utah and Mexico.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 2
Young leaves and stems - raw or cooked. Tender. Eaten before flowering. Most commonly harvested just after emerging through the ground in spring. Seed - pounded into a powder and eaten dry or mixed with water.
Seed: includes nuts, cereals, peas and beans.
Stem: this often intergrades into leaves.
Medicine
Rating: 1
The plant is used as a lotion for bear and dog bites.
Other
Rating:
The hollow stems can be cut at each end and used as drinking tubes.
Straw: For drinking with.
How it is grown
We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain. The notes below are based on the needs of other members of this genus. Requires a loose lean gritty well-drained soil in a very sunny position. Succeeds in dry soils. Tolerates exposed positions. Requires some protection from winter wet. Established plants resent root disturbance.
Propagating it: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a sandy compost in a greenhouse. Sow stored seed in early spring in a warm greenhouse. As soon as they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division in early spring. This has to be done with care because the plant resents root disturbance. Try to obtain divisions from around the edges of the plants without digging up the whole clump. Tease the divisions out with as much root on them as possible and pot them up. Grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse until they are rooting well and plant them out in the summer. Cuttings of greenwood with a heel in the summer.
Best place to grow: Cultivated Beds;
Habit: Perennial
Hardiness: 0-0
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium
Shade: No shade
Moisture: Dry, moist