Eriogonum nortonii

Pinnacles buckwheat

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.3

Pinnacles buckwheat is a rare (CNPS 1B.3) California native annual found in northern South Coast Ranges, including Gabilan and eastern Santa Lucia ranges in San Benito and Monterey counties, growing in sandy habitats at elevations of 300 to 1,200 meters. Flowering from May to August, this plant produces delicate white to rose-colored flowers in wide branching clusters up to 30 centimeters across. Growing prostrate with slender stems 1 to 20 centimeters long, it spreads low and flat across sandy ground. Its leaves are rounded, about 5 to 15 millimeters long, with a soft white-woolly underside and relatively smooth upper surface. The tiny flowers cluster in involucres with 6 to 8 small teeth, creating intricate delicate formations across the plant's low-growing structure.

Habitat: Sand

Bloom period: May-Aug

Elevation: 300-1200 m

Bioregions: n SCoR (Gabilan, e Santa Lucia ranges, San Benito, Monterey cos.).

California counties: Monterey, San Benito, Alameda

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