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Polygonaceae family

Longleaf Buckwheat (var. gnaphalifolium) Eriogonum longifolium var. gnaphalifolium variety

Native Specialist-bee host

Longleaf Buckwheat (var. gnaphalifolium) is a perennial wildflower native to the lower 48 states. A host for pollen-specialist native bees.

More about this plant

Eriogonum longifolium Nutt. var. gnaphalifolium Gand., commonly referred to as scrub buckwheat is a dicot of the Polygonaceae family. It is listed as threatened in the US and endangered in Florida. Within Florida its most closely related species is Eriogonum tomentosum however there are three other varieties of Eriogonum longifolium found in other areas of the US. Wikipedia →

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Conditions
Sources · Conditions
Cold hardiness (derived) — Hardiness
Hardiness
≥ zone 11 derived from its U.S. range
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Lifespan
Perennial
In the garden
Herb layer — Sits in the herb of a layered food forest or polyculture.Open guide →
derived roles
Species characteristics from USDA PLANTS (public domain) + TRY (CC BY) — general guidance, not a guarantee for your exact site. Deer "browsing" is documented palatability, not a deer-proof claim.

Wildlife & pollinators

How pollinator value is scored →
❧ Caterpillar hosts ~9 caterpillar species

Eriogonum supports ~9 caterpillar species.

Native butterfly & moth caterpillars are the base of the terrestrial food web — most songbirds rear their young almost entirely on them. As a host for native Lepidoptera this is a modest genus.

Recorded feeding on Eriogonum in North America, including:

Anacamptodes fragilaria · geometer (inchworm) moth Aplectoides condita · Quivering Dart Moth Apodemia mormo · Mormon Metalmark Argyrotaenia citrana · leafroller moth Argyrotaenia franciscana · Orange Tortrix Aroga eriogonella · twirler moth
+ 8 more species →
Callophrys affinis · Western Green Hairstreak Callophrys apama · Canyon Green Hairstreak Callophrys comstocki · gossamer-winged butterfly Callophrys dumetorum · Lotus Hairstreak Callophrys lemberti · gossamer-winged butterfly Callophrys sheridanii · Sheridan's Hairstreak Callophrys viridis · gossamer-winged butterfly Chalceria heteronea · gossamer-winged butterfly
Keystone count (genus-level) from Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use records. Named species (a documented Nearctic sample, not exhaustive) from NHM HOSTS (CC0).
✦ Bees specialist-bee host

Specialist native bees depend on it.

Some native bees are pollen specialists (oligolectic) — they raise young only on pollen from particular plant genera. Eriogonum is a recorded specialist-bee host, so losing it can mean losing the bee that relies on it.

Xerces pollinator conservation →
Specialist hosts from Smith et al. 2024.
Species thumbnails re-hosted from iNaturalist — Creative Commons, credited per image (hover for credit). Click any species to see it on iNaturalist. Not exhaustive; many taxa have no openly-licensed photo yet.
Sources for this entry (13) Open & cited
[01] Scientific name & family — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[02] Growth habit & duration — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[03] Native status & distribution — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[04] Common name — USDA PLANTS (via GBIF)
[05] Invasive / introduced status — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503) — native status
[07] Description — Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
[08] Ecological value — Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts · Smith et al. 2024 (CC BY)
[09] Conservation rank — NatureServe Explorer (CC BY)
[10] Federal ESA status — USFWS ECOS (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)
[11] Cold hardiness (derived) — Derived from U.S. range × USDA PHZM zones
[12] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[13] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
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