Eriogonum microtheca var. simpsonii

Simpson's wild buckwheat

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Simpson's wild buckwheat is a native shrub found in southern Sierra Nevada and Mojave Desert bioregions on gravel and rocky sites at elevations of 1,400 to 2,300 meters. Flowering from June to October, this plant produces white to pink or rose-colored flowers in small clusters approximately 2 to 4 centimeters long. Growing as a subshrub 1 to 1.5 meters tall with a spread of 4 to 16 centimeters, it features stems generally covered in soft, woolly tomentum. Its small leaves are narrow, 0.5 to 1.8 centimeters long, with margins rolled under and a soft, hairy surface. The compact, densely clustered inflorescence and delicate color variations make this wild buckwheat a distinctive component of its arid mountain and desert habitats.

Habitat: Common. Gravel to rocks

Bloom period: Jun-Oct

Elevation: 1400-2300 m

Bioregions: s SNE, DMoj

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