Snowy September

Snow Buckwheat of Eastern Washington: Eriogonum niveum
Photos by Sheri Edwards

Is that snow?

Up ahead in an open space among the sagebrush and rabbitbrush we saw what looked like a clump of snow. Of course in this 90° F heat, it was not. It was the delicate flowering of snow buckwheat, Eriogonum niveum.

Snow Buckwheat blooms from June to September, and by September they have often formed a clump over one foot tall and wide, looking like a pile of snow in the sagebrush desert. In late fall, the white flowers turn a bit pink. It grows east of the Cascades in sagebrush desert and openings of Ponderosa Pine forests.

Mule deer and big horn sheep feed on this, especially in winter. It provides cover for small animals and birds. Many pollinators, including bees and butterflies depend on it, especially the endangered Mormon Metalmark butterfly (Apodemia mormo). It’s an important plant in the shrub-steppe ecosystem.

The over 1/2 inch oblong leaves narrow to a point and cover the clump’s base. Woolly on both sides, the leaves appear a pale green to me.

The stems branch out with whorls of flowers of six tepals. This species has leafy bracts below the flowers. As you can see, the tepals are so very tiny.

Okanagan-Colville Native Americans used the plant for colds and for washing cuts.

Some Native American children played a game with the small branches. The broke off a branch, then the main stem to leave a hook shape. Putting the hook shapes together, they pulled. The child whose stem did not break was the winner.

And so, a poem — a limerick — for Sunday:

Snowy September

On the sandy path we tread,
a pile of snow we spot ahead-
in the heat
we laugh, agreed—
It’s snow buckwheat instead.
Sheri Edwards
Sunday Poetry/Photography
09.08.2024