Eriogonum cithariforme

Cithara buckwheat

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: annual · Native

Cithara buckwheat is a California native annual found in dry, open habitats at elevations of 300 to 1,500 meters. Flowering from June to September, this plant produces delicate white to rose-colored flowers in small clusters 5 to 25 centimeters long. Growing with slender stems 20 to 50 centimeters tall that are sometimes softly woolly, it has a delicate, open branching structure. Its basal leaves are small, narrow to nearly round, and typically covered in soft, feltlike hairs, measuring 3 to 20 millimeters long. The tiny flowers and leaves create an intricate, airy appearance characteristic of this distinctive desert buckwheat.

California counties: Ventura, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Kern, Monterey, Tulare, San Benito, Inyo, Riverside

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