Eriogonum rixfordii

Pagoda wild buckwheat

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: annual · Native

Pagoda wild buckwheat is a California native annual found in the northeastern Death Valley region in sandy or gravelly habitats at elevations of 100 to 1,600 meters. Flowering from June to December, this plant produces white to reddish flowers in distinctive horizontal-tiered inflorescences 10 to 35 centimeters wide. Growing 20 to 40 centimeters tall with glabrous stems, it forms an open, expansive structure with multiple horizontal branches. Its basal leaves are approximately round, 1 to 3 centimeters long, with dense white tomentum on the undersides and a smoother upper surface. The plant's unique pagoda-like branching structure and white to reddish flowers make it a distinctive annual in the desert landscape.

Habitat: Sand or gravel

Bloom period: Jun-Dec

Elevation: (30)100-1600 m

Bioregions: ne DMoj (Death Valley)

California counties: Inyo, San Bernardino

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