(Polygonaceae)

Also known as the Smartweed-Buckwheat Family or Knotweed Family. Flowers are organized alphabetically by genus and species. Hover over a photo series to control the images.

Winged Buckwheat (Eriogonum alatum)

Nodding Buckwheat (Eriogonum cernuum)

This plant looks like nothing but stems, unless you find the basal rosette of rounded leaves. The small clusters of white flowers occur on short stems, which can be hanging (hence the "nodding" part of the name) or erect. 

James' Buckwheat (Eriogonum jamesii)

Slender Buckwheat (Eriogonum microtheca)

Also known as Eriogonum microthecum. This species has woody stems and small, narrow leaves (the branches with leaves remind me of sprangly rosemary branches). In the late summer and early fall the shrubs are topped with clusters of white flowers. 

Eriogonum leptophyllum is very similar. According a statement on the latter's SEINET web page, edited here for clarity, E. microthecum has leaves that are 1.5 cm long or shorter; hairy involucres, which are the small cup-shaped structures that hold together clusters of a few flowers; and hairy inflorescence branches. E. leptophyllum has leaves longer than 1.5 cm and hairless involucres and inflorescence branches.

Redroot Buckwheat (Eriogonum racemosum)

Wright's Buckwheat (Eriogonum wrightii)

Silver Lace Vine (Fallopia baldschuanica)

Because of its showy displays of white flowers, silver lace vine was imported from the Old World as an ornamental plant. It has escaped into the wild, hence its inclusion here.

Pale Smartweed (Persicaria lapathifolia)

The flowers on this plant occur in spike-like clusters, are white to pink, and do not fully open. As the flower clusters grow longer, they nod (bend over).

Pennsylvania Smartweed or Pinkweed (Persicaria pensylvanica)

Prostrate Knotweed (Polygonum aviculare)

Curly Dock (Rumex crispus)

What makes curly dock distinctive isn't its tiny greenish flowers but its large leaves and seed heads. The three-winged fruits (green drying to brown) each contains a single seed. This species is non-native.

Canaigre (Rumex hymenosepalus)

Unlike Curly Dock, Canaigre Dock (to use one of its names) is native.