Red Wild Buckwheat, Red buckwheat
Eriogonum atrorubens
Family: Polygonaceae
What it is like
Eriogonum atrorubens is a PERENNIAL growing to 1 m (3ft 3in). It is in flower from July 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.
Height (m): 1
Where it is found
Sandy to loamy flats and slopes, mixed grassland communities, oak and montane conifer woodlands at elevations of 1800 - 2000 metres.
Southern N. America - New Mexico to Mexico.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 1
Root - chewed.
Root: includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.
Medicine
Rating: 0
The root is used medicinally in Mexico as a treatment for toothache.
Odontalgic: Treats toothache (temporary measure only) and other problems of the teeth and gums.
Other
Rating:
How it is grown
We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain. The following notes are based on the general needs of the 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