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Sea Cliff Buckwheat
Eriogonum parvifolium
  
About Sea Cliff Buckwheat (Eriogonum parvifolium) 52 Nurseries Carry This Plant Eriogonum parvifolium is a species in the Polygonaceae family that occurs on dune formations and sea cliffs in the coastal area of Central and Southern California. This evergreen shrub grows to a height of 30 to 100 centimeters with a spread of approximately the same dimension. This plant is an important host for a number of pollinating insects including certain endangered species. E. parvifolium occurs both on bluffs along the Pacific Ocean coast as well as Coastal Strand dunes formations, but is restricted to altitudes below 700 meters. In at least one instance within the Carbonera Creek watershed, it occurs farther inland in a Maritime Coast Range Ponderosa Pine forest. This shrub is also known by the common names Dune buckwheat, Coast buckwheat, Cliff buckwheat, or Seacliff buckwheat. The thick cauline leaves are five to thirty millimeters in size and may be lance-shaped to rounded. Alternatively leaves may be folded under, with the result of appearing more or less triangular; moreover they are smooth on the upper surfaces and woolly below. Foliage is green with reddish tinge, and the flowers white to pinkish or yellowish-green. The perianth measures 2.5 to 3.0 millimeters. This plant's smooth fruits are 2.5 to 3.0 millimeters across.

Sea Cliff Buckwheat is a great plant for coastal and seaside landscapes. It prefers full sun in its natural range, and does best in sandy soils, or on rocky slopes or cliffs. Easy, fast growing, very drought-tolerant and beautiful. It looks great hanging down over cliffs, slopes or walls, and is an important butterfly plant in the seaside and coastal plant communities.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Shrub

Size
Size
1 - 3.3 ft tall
2 - 3 ft wide

Form
Form
Mounding, Spreading

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Moderate

Dormancy
Dormancy
Evergreen

Fragrance
Fragrance
Slight

Flower Color
Flower Color
Pink, Red, White, Yellow, Green

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall

Wildlife Supported
 
Butterflies, bees, other pollinators. Particularly important butterfly plant.

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 7 confirmed , 37 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Part Shade, Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Very Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Very Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 0 - 10° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium

Soil Description
Soil Description
Sandy rocky soils, sandstone. Soil PH: 5 - 8

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

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
Giant Coreopsis, Chalk Dudleya, White Sage, Coastal Agave, White Coast Ceanothus, California Buckwheat, Seaside Fleabane,Coast Eriogonum

Propagation
Propagation?
For propagating by seed: No treatment.

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
5, 14, 15*, 16*, 17*, 21, 22, 23, 24*

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Dunes and bluffs

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 9.6" - 45.5", Summer Precipitation: 0.16" - 0.76", Coldest Month: 41.0" - 56.7", Hottest Month: 58.0" - 77.4", Humidity: 0.47" - 25.87", Elevation: -217" - 4469"

Alternative Names
Common Names: Coast Buckwheat, Dune Buckwheat, Dune Eriogonum, Sea-cliff Buckwheat, Seacliff 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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