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Shale Barren Wild Buckwheat

Eriogonum allenii

Found in open and sunny situations in shale barrens (and rarely sandstone). FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

65
Strong

Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 24%

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Light · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 11 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 2

Shale barrens

Steep, sun-baked slopes of loose shale with sparse oaks and Virginia pine and their own endemic wildflowers. Linked only where the source names shale barrens; calcareous shale stays with the limestone glades.

Granite and other acidic rock outcrops

Bare or thin-soil rock on granite, gneiss, sandstone, quartzite and similar acidic rock, including granite flatrocks and domes.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 53 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

8CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Eriogonum

  • Aplectoides conditaX
  • Callophrys augustinusThe Brown Elfin
  • Calothysanis amaturariaCross-Lined Wave
  • Chlorochlamys chloroleucariaBlackberry Looper Moth
  • Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
  • Platynota stultanaOmnivorous Leafroller
  • Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
  • Synchlora aerataWavy-Lined Emerald, Camouflaged Looper
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
12BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Eriogonum

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
6BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Eriogonum

  • Acanthis flammeaCommon Redpoll
  • Centrocercus urophasianusGreater Sage-Grouse
  • Dendragapus obscurusDusky Grouse
  • Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
  • Phasianus colchicusRing-necked Pheasant
  • Tympanuchus pallidicinctusLesser Prairie-Chicken
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Family not recorded

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Conservation status

Virginia rankS4
Global rankNot available
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source

In your garden

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Sources