Erect, densely cobweb-hairy stems reach 4–24 inches tall with lance-shaped to elliptic leaves and loose clusters of flowers spread along the upper branches. Note the slender shape of the plant, the dense, white hairs covering the stem and leaves, and the dangling clusters of small flowers.

FLOWER: June–November. Loose clusters of small, bell-shaped, flowers are separated along the upper branches of the stems; 6 petal-like tepals are white becoming pinkish with stamens contained inside the flower.

LEAVES: Basal rosette may wither by blooming. Alternate on stem. Blades lance-shaped to elliptic, 3/8–1 1/4-inches long (1–3 cm), densely hairy on both surfaces, margins curled.

HABITAT: Sandy, gravelly soils; washes, flats, roadsides; desert grasslands and scrub, pinyon-juniper-oak woodlands.

ELEVATION: 4,500–7,800 feet.

RANGE: AZ, NM, TX, UT.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Nodding Buckwheat, E. cernuum, in the nw fourth of NM, has a rounded (not erect) shape with hairless stems, most leaves in a basal rosette, and single flower clusters on dangling stalks. Redroot Buckwheat, E. racemosum, in much the same range, has closely-spaced flower clusters on a leafless flower stalk, and flowers with stamens that extend beyond the petals.

NM COUNTIES: Western half of NM in low- to mid-elevation, dry habitats: Bernalillo, Catron, Cibola, Dona Ana, Eddy, Grant, Hidalgo, Lincoln, Los Alamos, Luna, Sandoval, Santa Fe, Sierra, Socorro, Torrance, Valencia.