Eriogonum microtheca

Great basin buckwheat

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Great basin buckwheat is a California native shrub found in arid regions of the Great Basin and eastern California desert areas at elevations of 1,000 to 2,500 meters. Flowering from July to September, this plant produces delicate flowers in white, yellow, pink, and rose colors with orange and red variations, clustered in compact inflorescences. Growing as a low-spreading subshrub 20 to 150 centimeters in diameter with slender stems, it forms dense mounded clusters in desert landscapes. Its leaves are narrow and linear, measuring 1 to 3.5 centimeters long, with a soft tomentose surface that gives the plant a distinctive grayish-green appearance. The fruit is small, smooth, and approximately 1.5 to 3 millimeters in length, typical of buckwheat species in arid environments.

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