''Eriogonum inflatum'', the desert trumpet, is a

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

of the family

Polygonaceae The Polygonaceae are a family of flowering plants known informally as the knotweed family or smartweed—buckwheat family in the United States. The name is based on the genus '' Polygonum'', and was first used by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu in 1 ...

. The plant possesses very small yellow or pink

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s and an inflated stem just below branching segments. Eriogonum: from the Greek ''erion'', "wool", and ''gonu'', "joint or knee", in reference to the hairy or woolly joints of some of the species of the genus, but not particularly ''inflatum''. It is found in the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...

and other deserts.

Stems

The swelling of the stems was assumed to have been influenced by the presence of gall insects, most notably of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

'' Odynerus''. The female

wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. ...

produces a small hole on the inflated portion of the desert trumpet, packs the cavity with

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e and lays her eggs upon them, providing a food source, and a protected environment for the offspring. Irritation caused by this process was said to have enlarged the cavity over time. Recently, research performed by a world authority on the genus ''Eriogonum'', Dr. J. L. Reveal of the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

, revealed the swollen stem of ''Eriogonum inflatum'' is due to high concentrations of

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is trans ...

in the solid stem and seems to be related to gas regulation. Some insects utilize the swollen stem as a

larder A larder is a cool area for storing food prior to use. Originally, it was where raw meat was larded—covered in fat—to be preserved. By the 18th century, the term had expanded. Now a dry larder was where bread, pastry, milk, butter, or cooked m ...

, but the inflation is ''not'' caused by the larval feeding of gall insects. Joshua Tree National Park - Desert Trumpet - 2

Uses

It is known that some Native American tribes that once inhabited the surrounding areas of the

Las Vegas Valley The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area i ...

(most commonly

Paiute Paiute (; also Piute) refers to three non-contiguous groups of indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. Although their languages are related within the Numic group of Uto-Aztecan languages, these three groups do not form a single set. The term "Paiu ...

) would remove the stalk of ''E. inflatum'' at the base, and then cut the inflated bulb in half, producing a makeshift pipe. A mixture of Indian tobacco and mistletoe would be smoked primarily for leisure purposes. This plant makes a brief appearance in '' Star Trek: Voyager'', in Season 3, episode 1, at around the 3 minute 47 second mark, when the character "

Neelix Neelix () is a character in the science fiction television series '' Star Trek: Voyager'', played by actor Ethan Phillips since the series' inception. Neelix is an alien native to the distant far side of the galaxy, who has joined the crew of t ...

" is shown to be looking at a picked specimen.

External links

UC Jepson Manual treatment - ''Eriogonum inflatum''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3056650 inflatum Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of the Great Basin Flora of the California desert regions Flora of the Sonoran Deserts Death Valley National Park Flora without expected TNC conservation status