''Eriogonum cinereum'' is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common names coastal buckwheat and ashyleaf buckwheat. Calflora: ''Eriogonum cinereum''
/ref>Flora of North America profile of ''Eriogonum cinereum''
/ref>

Distribution

This shrub is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the coastline of

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

, primarily within Los Angeles County and

Ventura County Ventura County () is a County (United States), county in Southern California, the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, California ...

. It grows on beaches in coastal strand habitats and on bluffs and lower slopes of the Western

Transverse Ranges The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie within Santa ...

, including the

Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains is a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. Because of its proximity to densely populated regions, it is one of the most visited natural areas in ...

, in chaparral

coastal sage scrub Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is ...

habitats below .

Description

''Eriogonum cinereum'' can reach from in height and width. It is light silvery gray in color due to the woolly hairs on its stems and foliage. The leaves are wavy-edged ovals one to three centimeters long. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

s stick out from the plant, each with one to several flower cluster heads of tiny tightly-packed frilly flowers which are usually light whitish-pink to brownish-pink in color, and quite hairy.

Uses

This is the foodplant for '' Euphilotes bernardino'', the Bernardino dotted blue butterfly. Buckwheats (''Eriogonum'' sp.) are very important for various butterflies and native wasps. Las Pilitas Nursery Horticulture Database: ''Eriogonum cinereum'' (Ashyleaf buckwheat)
/ref>

Cultivation

''Eriogonum cinereum'' is cultivated as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

, for planting in

native plant In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equ ...

drought tolerant Drought tolerance is the ability to which a plant maintains its biomass production during arid or drought conditions. Some plants are naturally adapted to dry conditions'','' surviving with protection mechanisms such as desiccation tolerance, deto ...

, and

butterfly garden Butterfly gardening is a way to create, improve, and maintain habitat for lepidopterans including butterflies, skippers, and moths. Butterflies have four distinct life stages—egg, larva, chrysalis, and adult. In order to support and sustain ...

s and other

wildlife garden A wildlife garden (or wild garden) is an environment created by a gardener that serves as a sustainable haven for surrounding wildlife. Wildlife gardens contain a variety of habitats that cater to native and local plants, birds, amphibian ...

s, and for larger designed

natural landscaping Natural landscaping, also called native gardening, is the use of native plants and adapted species, including trees, shrubs, groundcover, and grasses which are local to the geographic area of the garden. Benefits Maintenance Natural land ...

and

habitat restoration Restoration ecology is the scientific study supporting the practice of ecological restoration, which is the practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human interrupt ...

projects.

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Eriogonum cinereum'' (Ashyleaf buckwheat, Coastal wild buckwheat, Grey coast eriogonum)Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Eriogonum cinereum''UC Photos gallery of ''Eriogonum cinereum''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5389353 cinereum Endemic flora of California Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the Santa Monica Mountains Natural history of the Transverse Ranges Natural history of Los Angeles County, California Natural history of Ventura County, California Taxa named by George Bentham Garden plants of North America Butterfly food plants Drought-tolerant plants