Eriogonum ovalifolium var. purpureum

Purple cushion wild buckwheat

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Purple cushion wild buckwheat is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, eastern California high mountains, and Great Basin in sandy or gravelly habitats at elevations of 700 to 3,100 meters. Flowering from April to August, this plant produces white to rose or purple flowers in compact clusters 1.5 to 3.5 centimeters wide. Growing as a dense cushion 2.5 to 4 meters in diameter with erect stems 5 to 20 centimeters tall, covered in soft tomentose hairs. Its oval leaf blades are 0.5 to 2 centimeters long, also densely hairy, forming a compact mat-like growth. The plant produces numerous small involucres 4 to 5 millimeters long, creating a distinctive low-growing, tightly clustered appearance.

Habitat: Common. Sand or gravel

Bloom period: Apr-Aug

Elevation: 700-3100 m

Bioregions: KR, CaRH, SNH (e slope), GB

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

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