Eriogonum inflatum (Desert trumpet)

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Eriogonum inflatum Torr. & Frém.

Desert trumpet, Indian pipeweed, bottle stopper

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Caryophyllidae	Cacti, many other succulents, carnivorous plants, and leadworts
Order	Caryophyllales	Includes cacti, carnations, amaranths, ice plants, and many carnivorous plants
Family	Polygonaceae	Knotweed or smartweed family
Genus	Eriogonum	From Greek erion, “wool,” and gonu, “joint or knee,” for the hairy or woolly joints in the stems of some of these species
Species	inflatum	“Inflated,” for the thickened stem, which stores CO₂

About plant names...

Desert trumpet is native to portions of western North America. I grew up in the northeast and have seen very little of the southwestern desert. When I first glimpsed this plant from the car window in Nevada (photo 19), I was deeply impressed. "Susie! Stop the car!" I walked back a quarter mile to find my "exotic" plant, and returned, very pleased with myself. Okay, so it isn't really exotic, but it looked to me like something from another planet.

This table compares desert trumpet to a close relative, kidney-leaf buckwheat.

1 · 4/29/2018 · Sandstone Quarry, Scenic Loop Road, Red Rock Canyon, Nevada
≈ 5 × 8" (13 × 20 cm)

2 · 5/2/2018 · Forty-nine Palms Canyon Trail, Forty-nine Palms Oasis, Joshua Tree, California
≈ 27 × 21" (69 × 52 cm)

	You are here Eriogonum inflatum	*Eriogonum reniforme*
Common Name	desert trumpet	kidney-leaf buckwheat
Plant	2' high.	Less than 2' high.
Flowers	Yellow, about 1/4" across, with greenish or reddish midribs; inconspicuous.	Very small, yellow, turning reddish later.
Stem	Some stems have inflated regions.	Stems are not inflated.
Range/ Zones
Habitats	Creosote Bush Scrub, Joshua Tree Woodland, Sagebrush Scrub, Pinyon-Juniper Woodland, between -50 and 6500'	Creosote Bush Scrub, Joshua Tree Woodland, less than 5000'
Type	Wild	Wild
Occurrence	Common	Common

Identification: This plant grows to about 24" (60 cm) in height. It's distinguishing characteristic is the inflated stems, which I assumed were for storage of water. Real botanists assumed these expanded regions were galls. Some insects secrete hormones that cause a plant to grow abnormally, producing a house on demand for raising baby bugs. These abnormal growths are called galls. But this isn't the case either. If the Wikipedia article is right, the expanded areas house carbon dioxide gas, which plays an as-yet unknown role in the plant's life cycle.

Desert trumpet frequently drops its leaves entirely when it is dry, but the green stems are also capable of photosynthesis, sustaining the plant. The inflation is less likely to occur later in the season. Area natives sometimes made makeshift pipes from the hollow stems, hence the common name indian pipeweed.

Tiny yellow flowers, with greenish or reddish midribs, are easy to miss.

Online References:

Wildflowers, Ferns & Trees of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah

Wikipedia

George and Audrey DeLange's Arizona wildflower site

Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

CalPhotos

Jan.ucc.nau.edu

The Mindbird Maps and Books unofficial Mojave National Preserve site

EFloras

3 · 5/3/2018 · Park Blvd, Joshua Tree National Park, California
≈ 14 × 12" (36 × 30 cm)

4 · 5/2/2018 · Forty-nine Palms Canyon Trail, Forty-nine Palms Oasis, Joshua Tree, California
≈ 29 × 21" (73 × 52 cm)

5 · 5/3/2018 · Park Blvd, Joshua Tree National Park, California
≈ 21 × 14" (52 × 34 cm)

6 · 2/28/2010 · Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California
≈ 11 × 7" (27 × 18 cm)

7 · 5/3/2018 · Park Blvd., Joshua Tree National Park
≈ 14 × 21" (34 × 52 cm)

8 · 2/28/2010 · Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California
≈ 6 × 9" (14 × 22 cm)

9 · 5/3/2018 · Park Blvd., Joshua Tree National Park

10 · 5/2/2018 · Forty-nine Palms Canyon Trail, Forty-nine Palms Oasis, Joshua Tree, California

11 · 4/28/2018 · Red Rock Canyon, Nevada
≈ 15 × 10" (39 × 26 cm)

12 · 4/29/2018 · Willow Spring Picnic Area, Red Rock Canyon, Nevada
≈ 19 × 27" (48 × 67 cm)

13 · 4/28/2018 · Red Rock Canyon, Nevada
≈ 8 × 5" (20 × 13 cm)

14 · 5/3/2018 · Park Blvd., Joshua Tree National Park
≈ 31 × 21" (78 × 52 cm)

Eriogonum inflatum description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 16 Sep 2020.

15 · 4/29/2018 · Sandstone Quarry, Scenic Loop Road, Red Rock Canyon, Nevada
≈ 21 × 14" (52 × 34 cm)

16 · 5/3/2018 · Park Blvd., Joshua Tree National Park

17 · 4/29/2018 · Sandstone Quarry, Scenic Loop Road, Red Rock Canyon, Nevada
≈ 6 × 10" (16 × 24 cm)

18 · 4/29/2018 · Sandstone Quarry, Scenic Loop Road, Red Rock Canyon, Nevada

19 · 6/4/2009 · Nevada

20 · 2/28/2010 · Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California
≈ 12 × 8" (31 × 20 cm)

21 · 2/28/2010 · Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California
≈ 5 × 8" (13 × 19 cm)

22 · 2/28/2010 · Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California
≈ 3½ × 2½' (1.2 × 0.8 m)

23 · 2/28/2010 · Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California
≈ 6 × 9" (15 × 23 cm)

24 · 4/29/2018 · Sandstone Quarry, Scenic Loop Road, Red Rock Canyon, Nevada
≈ 6 × 10" (16 × 24 cm)

25 · 4/29/2018 · Sandstone Quarry, Scenic Loop Road, Red Rock Canyon, Nevada
≈ 7 × 4½" (18 × 12 cm)

Range:

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