Eriogonum gossypinum

Cottony buckwheat

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.2

Cottony buckwheat is a native annual found in the southern Sierra Nevada foothills Greenhorn Mountains and southwestern San Joaquin Valley in clay habitats at elevations of 100 to 500 meters. Flowering throughout the year, this plant produces white to rose-colored flowers in delicate, spreading clusters 5 to 25 centimeters wide. Growing 5 to 20 centimeters tall with tomentose (woolly) stems that are densely hairy, it appears compact and low-growing. Its leaves are both basal and along the stem, with blades 3 to 40 millimeters long and 2 to 10 millimeters wide, covered in soft white hairs and occasionally with slightly rolled edges. The fruit is small, about 1.3 to 1.5 millimeters long and glabrous.

Habitat: Clay

Bloom period: All year

Elevation: 100-500 m

Bioregions: s SNF (Greenhorn Mtns), sw SnJV.

California counties: Kern, San Luis Obispo, Kings, Fresno, Ventura

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