Eriogonum elatum

Tall buckwheat

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Tall buckwheat is a California native perennial found in rocky or dry habitats at elevations of 1,500 to 2,500 meters. Flowering from July to September, this plant produces delicate white flowers in clusters 15 to 50 centimeters long with slender, occasionally branching stems. Growing 4 to 8 decimeters tall with occasionally inflated stems that are glabrous or slightly hairy, it develops a distinctive spreading form. Its basal leaves are notable for their large size, measuring 4 to 15 centimeters long and 1.5 to 6 centimeters wide, with a distinctly hairy surface. The small white flowers, each 2.5 to 4 millimeters long with obovate perianth lobes, are arranged in compact involucres that create intricate flowering clusters.

California counties: Lassen, Mono, Siskiyou, Modoc, Nevada, Trinity, Plumas, Sierra, Placer

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