Johanneshowellia puberula

Downy buckwheat, Downy Buckwheat

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.3

Downy buckwheat is a rare (CNPS 2B.3) California native annual found in northern Desert Mountains, specifically in the Cottonwood Mountains and Death Valley region of Inyo County, growing in sandy habitats at elevations of 800 to 2,800 meters. Flowering from May to September, this plant produces delicate white to pale yellow, and occasionally rose or red flowers that are small and minutely papillate. Growing as an erect plant 5 to 30 centimeters tall, it develops slender stems with compact growth. Its leaves are small, with blade-like structures 5 to 15 millimeters long, and the plant's involucre bracts are distinctively 2 to 3-lobed. The fruit is compact, measuring 1 to 1.5 millimeters in length.

Habitat: Sand

Bloom period: May-Sep

Elevation: (500)800-2800 m

Bioregions: n DMtns (Cottonwood Mtns, Death Valley region, Inyo Co.)

California counties: Inyo

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