Semi-desert. Shrublands, woodlands, rocks. Summer, fall.
Big Spring Trail, Canyonlands National Park, Utah, September 10, 2005.

Eriogonum corymbosum grows to four feet in diameter and always looks like a soft, spongy fluff of white.  It enjoys rocky areas of the semi-desert and, as shown here, roots into the tiniest of rock crevices.  The plant pictured is growing about 20 feet down from the top of a two hundred foot steep rock face.  Water washes over the surface and probably issues from the cracks after a good rain.  Eriogonum corymbosum's distinctive rounded mass of flowers makes it easy to spot in the rocks of Canyon Country.  In winter one can still spot the plant fairly easily because of the numerous dried stems at the top of the plant.  These are green in the picture below.

A "corymb" is a flat-topped flower formation in which each flower's stem is attached to the main stem at a different point.  "Osum" is a Latin ending meaning "full of" and this plant certainly is "full of corymbs".

Semi-desert. Shrublands, woodlands, rocks. Summer, fall.
Big Spring Trail, Canyonlands National Park, Utah, September 10, 2005.

Eriogonum corymbosum was named by  George Bentham (1800-1884) in 1856. 

More Eriogonum corymbosum photographs.

Semi-desert. Shrublands, woodlands, sand. Summer, fall.
Big Spring Trail, Canyonlands National Park, Utah, September 10, 2005.

Eriogonum microthecum is a lovely, dainty shrub that scatters itself widely over large areas.  In the three miles of trail from Squaw Flats to Big Spring, one can see many hundreds of plants, most about a foot tall and two feet across at the top.   Leaves are narrow, rolled inward, and sparse.  Flowers have a raggedy beauty as they dangle at the end of the stems with their cute little stripe on each petal (see bottom photograph).

This is a highly variable species with at least twelve varieties found through the West.  Flower color, woodiness of stems, growth pattern, leaf shape, etc. are all variable.

Thomas Nuttall named this species in 1848. "Microthecum" is Greek for "small seed".

Semi-desert. Shrublands, woodlands, sand. Summer, fall.
Big Spring Trail, Canyonlands National Park, Utah, September 10, 2005.

Semi-desert. Shrublands, woodlands, sand. Summer, fall.
Big Spring Trail, Canyonlands National Park, Utah, September 10, 2005.