Eriogonum argillosum

Clay buckwheat

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.3

Clay buckwheat is a California native annual found in southern San Francisco Bay and northern Santa Cruz Mountains on steep clay slopes, occasionally serpentine, at elevations of 150 to 600 meters. Flowering from March to October, this plant produces white to rose-colored flowers in delicate clusters on slender branchlets. Growing 10 to 30 centimeters tall with generally glabrous stems, it forms a compact annual herb with distinctive leaf characteristics. Its leaves are both basal and stem-based, featuring blades 1 to 3 centimeters long, with dense woolly undersides and a hairy upper surface. The tiny flowers measure 1.5 to 2 millimeters long, with oblong perianth lobes that create intricate terminal clusters.

Habitat: Steep clay slopes, occasionally serpentine

Bloom period: Mar-Oct

Elevation: 150-600 m

Bioregions: s SnFrB, n SCoRI.

California counties: San Benito, Monterey, Merced, Santa Clara, Fresno

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