Eriogonum nidularium

Birdnest wild buckwheat

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: annual · Native

Birdnest wild buckwheat is a California native annual found in the Great Basin and Desert bioregions in sandy or gravelly habitats at elevations of 500 to 2,300 meters. Flowering from March to October, this plant produces pale yellow to red flowers in compact clusters with widely fan-shaped outer perianth lobes. Growing with tiny stems generally 5 to 15 centimeters tall and characteristically hairy, it forms delicate, low-growing clusters. Its basal leaves are approximately round, about 1 to 2 centimeters long, and covered in a dense woolly (tomentose) surface. The small flowers and compact growth give this wild buckwheat a distinctive, clustered appearance characteristic of its birdnest-like form.

Habitat: Common. Sand or gravel

Bloom period: Mar-Oct

Elevation: (300)500-2300 m

Bioregions: GB, D

California counties: Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Kern, Inyo, Mono, Riverside, Lassen, Santa Barbara

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