Flower profile

Desert trumpet

Eriogonum inflatum

Desert trumpet (Eriogonum inflatum) is a flowering plant in the Polygonaceae family, native in the lower 48 states, blooming mostly March–May across the U.S.

Native in the lower 48

Desert trumpet is a wildflower that USDA PLANTS lists as native in the lower 48 states. It's on our flower lists for 2 states, and across the U.S. it's most often seen in bloom in March–May.

6states where USDA records it

2Bloomipedia state lists include it

10,903U.S. sightings*

*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026.

On our lists for: Nevada, Utah

Quick look

Eriogonum inflatum, the desert trumpet, is a perennial plant of the family buckwheat family. The plant possesses very small yellow flowers and an inflated stem just below branching segments. It is found in the deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico as far east as western Colorado and the Four Corners region.
From Wikipedia's article Eriogonum inflatum, CC BY-SA 4.0.

It belongs to the Polygonaceae family. ^iNaturalist
USDA PLANTS describes it as an herb (forb) with a annual, perennial life cycle. ^{USDA PLANTS}
USDA PLANTS lists it as native in the lower 48 states and records it in 6 states. ^{USDA PLANTS}
NatureServe lists it as native to Nevada and Utah. ^NatureServe
In Nevada, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in April–June. ^iNaturalist
In Utah, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in April–October. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 1,956 research-grade sightings of it in Nevada, ranking #10 among the 132 flowers on our Nevada list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 765 research-grade sightings of it in Utah, ranking #79 among the 153 flowers on our Utah list. ^iNaturalist

When does it bloom?

Flowering records by month across the U.S. (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (1,774 records)

Bloom time in the 2 states whose Bloomipedia list includes it

State	Type	Peak bloom	Sightings*
Nevada	Native	April–June	1,956
Utah	Native	April–October	765

Conservation status

Federal (U.S. ESA): Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. ^{USFWS ECOS}
NatureServe global: G5 Secure worldwide. ^NatureServe
Nevada: Not listed Not on Nevada fully protected plants, critically endangered (NAC 527.010). NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Nevada. ^{NAC 527.010}
Utah: No list Utah has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Utah ranks instead. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Utah.
Rare elsewhere: No other U.S. state ranks it S1, S2, SH or SX.

Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.

Can you eat it?

For peopleNot well documented

None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no edibility or poison notes on its page), USDA PLANTS) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people. ^{NC State Extension}

For petsNot well documented

It isn't on the ASPCA plant list, and NC State Extension doesn't flag it for pets.

🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.

Where does it grow?

USDA PLANTS records desert trumpet in 6 states.

AKMEVTNHWAIDMTNDMNILWIMINYRIMAORNVWYSDIAINOHPANJCTCAUTCONEMOKYWVVAMDDEAZNMKSARTNNCSCDCOKLAMSALGAHITXFL

recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded

See the full list of states

Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah.

Nevada counties with USDA records: Churchill, Clark, Esmeralda, Lincoln, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Pershing.

Utah counties with USDA records: Beaver, Carbon, Duchesne, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Kane, San Juan, Uintah, Washington, Wayne.

Names, range and relatives

County records: USDA PLANTS lists it in 45 counties across 6 states; the most are in Arizona (12), Utah (11), California (8).

Other Eriogonum on Bloomipedia (9): California buckwheat, Sulfur buckwheat, Cushion buckwheat, Parsnipflower buckwheat, Redroot buckwheat, James' buckwheat, Alpine golden buckwheat, Annual buckwheat, Few-flower buckwheat.

More from the Polygonaceae family (21 on Bloomipedia; most observed first): American jumpseed, Low smartweed, Japanese knotweed, Mile-a-minute weed, Water smartweed, American bistort, Spotted lady's thumb, Devil's spineflower.

More Nevada flowers

Cushion buckwheat

Eriogonum ovalifolium

Native

🌼 Blooms in NV: May–June

Sulfur buckwheat

Eriogonum umbellatum

Native

🌼 Blooms in NV: June–August

Devil's spineflower

Chorizanthe rigida

Native

🌼 Blooms in NV: March–May

Sources

USDA, NRCS. PLANTS Database, profile ERIN4.
iNaturalist, Eriogonum inflatum: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 17, 2026.
Wikipedia, Eriogonum inflatum (lead quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0).
Nevada: Nevada fully protected plants, critically endangered (NAC 527.010).
Nevada: Nevada noxious weeds (NAC 555.010).
Utah: Utah noxious weed list (Utah Admin. Code R68-9-3).
USFWS, ECOS species database (ESA listing check), October 17, 2026.
NatureServe Explorer, Eriogonum inflatum (global and state ranks).
Edibility and toxicity: NC State Extension.
Photo: desertnaturalist via iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · resized.