Eriogonum inflatum

Common Names

Desert Trumpet, Bottle Stopper, Indian Pipeweed, Guinagua, Native American Pipeweed, Bladder Stem, Umbrella Plant, Bottlebush, American Pipeweed

Summary

Desert trumpet is a native perennial herb of the buckwheat family found in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. It grows as an erect plant with a compact caudex and basal leaves, and aerial flowering stems that are often fistulose below branching; distinctive inflated gray-green stems support cymose inflorescences bearing small yellow flowers with greenish or reddish midribs, with flowering year-round in suitable desert habitats across Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Baja California, and Sonora.

For cultivation, it prefers full sun and dry, well-drained sandy to rocky soils, tolerates drought and poor soils, and benefits from protection from winter wet with minimal root disturbance once established; propagation is by seed. Practical uses include edible leaves and young stems, and hollow stems used as drinking tubes and pipes. Ecologically, Desert trumpet provides value to native bees and serves as a host plant for the desert metalmark butterfly Apodemia mormo deserti.

Lifecycle

Perennial (occasionally flowering first year)

Height

0.5-4.5 feet

Spread

2-20 inches

Hardiness Zones

Zones not specified

Sunlight Requirements

Ideally full sun.

Soil Type

Well-drained, sandy to gravelly soils

Soil Drainage

Well-drained soil

Soil pH

Mildly acidic, neutral, or mildly alkaline.

Bloom Color

Yellow

Bloom Time

Year-round

Foliage Color

Gray-green

Fall Foliage Color

Grayish

Leaf Lifecycle

Deciduous, Evergreen broadleaf

Growth Rate

Medium

Seasons of Interest

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter

Propagation Methods

Seeds, Division, Cuttings

Attracts Wildlife

Attracts bees and butterflies