Eriogonum deflexum

Skeleton weed, Skeleton Weed

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: annual · Native

Skeleton weed is a California native annual herb found in dry, open areas at low to moderate elevations. Flowering from spring to summer, this plant produces delicate white to pink or reddish flowers in open, branching clusters up to 90 centimeters wide. Growing with slender, occasionally inflated stems 5 to 100 centimeters tall, it forms a distinctive skeletal appearance with sparse branching. Its basal leaves are broadly rounded, measuring 1 to 2.5 centimeters long, with soft, woolly undersides and smoother upper surfaces. The tiny flowers, measuring 1 to 2.5 millimeters long, have outer perianth lobes that are oblong to heart-shaped and inner lobes that are lance-shaped.

California counties: San Bernardino, Inyo, Riverside, Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Mono, Ventura, Tulare

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.