Stats

Lifespan: Up to 75 yrs
Size: Medium
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Chaparral shrubland
Range: North America
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Toxins
Status: Common

About

California Buckwheat is a tough, drought-adapted shrub native to the chaparral and coastal sage scrub of California and Baja California. Its clusters of tiny white-to-pink flowers turn rust-red when dried and persist through winter — making it one of the most important native nectar plants for bees in the American West.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Polygonaceae
Genus: Eriogonum
Species: Eriogonum fasciculatum