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California Buckwheat
Eriogonum fasciculatum
  
About California Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum) 81 Nurseries Carry This Plant This common shrub California Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum) is native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, where it grows on scrubby slopes and in chaparral and dry washes in a number of habitats.

It is variable in appearance, forming a patchy, compact bramble or a spreading bush approaching seven feet in height and ten across. The leaves grow in clusters at nodes along the branches and are leathery, woolly on the undersides, and rolled under along the edges.

Flowers appear in dense, frilly clusters anywhere from a 1/4 inch to 6 inches wide. Each individual flower is pink and white and less than an inch across. This plant is particularly attractive to honey bees and is a good source of nectar over many months in drier areas.

Form is variable, ranging from often open and upright in the foothills, to often dense and mounding closer to the coast. There are four recognized varieties of California Buckwheat:
1. Eriogonum fasciculatum var. foliolosum or Leafy California Buckwheat, a brighter green variety which grows primarily on the coast and western side of the coastal mountain ranges; it is often carried in nurseries.
2. Eriogonum fasciculatum var. polifolium, a gray variety that grows primarily in the desert regions and through the coastal foothills; it is sometimes available in nurseries.
3. Eriogonum fasciculatum var. fasciculatum, or Coastal California Buckwheat, grows most closely to the coast.
4. Eriogonum fasciculatum var. flavoviride, or Sonoran Desert California Buckwheat, grows primarily in the Sonoran Desert and desert mountains.

California Buckwheat is tough and easy to grow, even in very dry conditions. Plant in a well-draining sunny site. It shouldn't need supplemental water after established, but it will tolerate occasional summer water better than most extremely drought-tolerant California natives.

It produces profuse pink to white and cream-colored flowers as early as March that dry to a pretty red rust color as the soil dries. It sheds its dried flowers and a significant portion of its small blade-like leaves each dry season, and is an important plant for creating natural mulch. California Buckwheat is a keystone species for sagebrush scrub ecosystems, and a great choice for wildlife and butterfly gardens.

Low-growing forms of both Leafy Green Buckwheat and Interior California Buckwheat can be found in nurseries to use as spreading ground covers. Eriogonum fasciculatum 'Theodore Payne' can grow as low as just 1 foot with a spread of up to 8 feet.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Perennial herb, Shrub

Size
Size
1 - 6.6 ft tall
3 ft wide

Form
Form
Rounded, Mounding, Spreading

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Fast, Slow

Dormancy
Dormancy
Evergreen

Flower Color
Flower Color
Yellow, Cream, Pink, White

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Summer, Spring, Fall

Wildlife Supported
 
Bees, Butterflies

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Extremely Low, Very Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / month once established, Never irrigate once established

Nurseries
Nurseries

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Very Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 15° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium, Slow

Soil Description
Soil Description
Prefers loamy soils. Soil PH: 5.0 - 8.5

Common uses
Common uses
Bank Stabilization, Bee Gardens, Bird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Deer Resistant, Groundcovers

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
Many companions including Brittlebush (Encelia species), Sagebrush (Artemisia species), Sage (Salvia species), Manzanita (Arctostaphylos species), Ceanothus species, Yucca species, Dudleya species, and cactus species

Maintenance
Maintenance
Can handle hard pruning; taller varieties can even be shaped into edged/hedged plantings.

Propagation
Propagation?
For propagating by seed: No treatment.

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Dry slopes, often south facing as a common component of Coastal Sage Scrub. Inland it may be found in Valley Grassland. In high desert areas, it occurs in Sagebrush Scrub and Pinyon-Juniper Woodland. It sometimes occurs in low desert areas as part of Creosote Bush Scrub

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 2.7" - 50.6", Summer Precipitation: 0.14" - 3.86", Coldest Month: 23.5" - 61.4", Hottest Month: 43.2" - 88.8", Humidity: 0.43" - 42.79", Elevation: 0" - 11630"

Alternative Names
Common Names: Eastern Mojave Buckwheat, Flattop Buckwheat, Yellow Buckwheat


Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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