Eriogonum elegans

Elegant wild buckwheat

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.3

Elegant wild buckwheat is a California native annual found in the San Francisco Bay Area, southern Coast Ranges, and western Transverse Ranges in sandy or gravelly habitats at elevations of 200 to 1,200 meters. Flowering from May to November, this plant produces delicate white to rose-colored flowers that range from 1 to 1.5 millimeters long with oblong-obovate perianth lobes. Growing 10 to 40 centimeters tall with glabrous stems, it forms a compact plant with minimal branching. Its basal leaves are distinctive, measuring 3 to 15 millimeters long, generally round in shape, and covered in a soft, woolly tomentose surface. The plant produces small, smooth fruits 1 to 1.5 millimeters in length, blending seamlessly into its delicate habitat.

Habitat: Uncommon. Sand or gravel

Bloom period: May-Nov

Elevation: 200-1200 m

Bioregions: SnFrB, SCoR, WTR.

California counties: Monterey, San Luis Obispo, San Benito, Santa Barbara, Inyo, Tulare, Ventura, Fresno, Santa Clara, Stanislaus

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