Eriogonum douglasii var. meridionale

Southern wild buckwheat, Southern Wild Buckwheat

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Southern wild buckwheat is a California native perennial found in eastern Klamath Ranges, eastern Cascade Range, northern Sierra Nevada, and Modoc Plateau in sandy or gravelly habitats at elevations of 1,200 to 2,500 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces yellow to rose-red flowers in compact head-like clusters approximately 1 to 1.5 centimeters wide. Growing as a low spreading mat 0.5 to 6 centimeters in diameter with short stems 4 to 12 centimeters tall, it has densely woolly stems and branches. Its basal leaves are small and narrow, measuring 4 to 15 millimeters long, completely covered in soft white tomentose hairs. The involucre has 6 to 14 strongly reflexed teeth, giving the flower cluster a distinctive textured appearance.

Habitat: Sand or gravel

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: 1200-2500 m

Bioregions: e KR, e CaRH, n SNH, MP

California counties: Plumas, Nevada, Modoc, Sierra, Lassen, Siskiyou

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