Eriogonum ovalifolium var. ovalifolium

Cushion wild buckwheat

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Cushion wild buckwheat is a California native perennial found in the eastern Sierra Nevada and Great Basin regions in sandy or gravelly habitats at elevations of 600 to 2,600 meters. Flowering from April to August, this plant produces yellow flowers in compact clusters approximately 1 to 3.5 centimeters wide. Growing as a low cushion-like plant 25 to 40 centimeters in diameter with erect stems 5 to 20 centimeters tall, it has a distinctively woolly or tomentose appearance. Its oval-shaped leaves are 1 to 6 centimeters long, covered in dense soft hairs that give the plant a grayish-green texture. The plant forms dense, mat-like clusters that help it survive in harsh, exposed mountain environments.

Habitat: Common. Sand or gravel

Bloom period: Apr-Aug

Elevation: 600-2600 m

Bioregions: SNH (e slope), GB

California counties: Inyo, Modoc, Mono, Siskiyou, Lassen, Plumas, Placer, Sierra

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