Eriogonum ovalifolium var. nivale
Sierran cushion wild buckwheat, Sierran Cushion Wild Buckwheat
Family: Polygonaceae · Type: perennial · Native
Sierran cushion wild buckwheat is a native perennial found in the high Sierra Nevada, White and Inyo Mountains in sandy or gravelly alpine and subalpine habitats at elevations of 1,700 to 4,200 meters. Flowering from June to September, this plant produces white to rose or red flowers in compact clusters 1 to 2.5 centimeters wide. Growing as a low, dense cushion 0.5 to 3 meters in diameter with erect stems 3 to 5 centimeters tall covered in soft, felt-like tomentose hairs. Its small oval leaves are 2 to 8 millimeters long, densely woolly, with occasionally brownish margins. The compact, low-growing form of this buckwheat creates distinctive mounded cushions in high-elevation rocky alpine environments.
Habitat: Common. Sand or gravel
Bloom period: Jun-Sep
Elevation: 1700-4200 m
Bioregions: CaRH, SNH, W&I
California counties: Inyo, Tuolumne, Tulare, Alpine, Mono, Madera, Fresno, Nevada, Modoc, Amador, Mariposa, Placer, Shasta, Stanislaus, El Dorado, Lassen, San Bernardino, Sierra
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.