Eriogonum cernuum

Nodding wild buckwheat

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: annual · Native

Nodding wild buckwheat is a California native annual found in northern and central Sierra Nevada Mountains, eastern Sierra Nevada slope, and Great Basin regions in sandy habitats at elevations of 600 to 3,100 meters. Flowering from April to October, this plant produces white to pink or rose-colored flowers in delicate clusters with distinctive fiddle-shaped outer perianth lobes. Growing 0.5 to 6 decimeters tall with slender glabrous stems, it forms a compact annual structure. Its basal leaves are approximately round, typically one to two centimeters long and covered in a soft tomentose surface. The fruit is small, about 1.5 to 2 millimeters long and completely glabrous.

Habitat: Uncommon. Sand

Bloom period: Apr-Oct

Elevation: 600-3100 m

Bioregions: n SNH (probably introduced, Nevada Co.), c SNH (e slope), GB

California counties: Mono, Inyo, Lassen, Nevada, San Diego, Kern, San Bernardino

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