Eriogonum cinereum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common names coastal buckwheat and ashyleaf buckwheat. This shrub is endemic to the coastline of California, where it grows on beaches and bluffs and in coastal scrub and chaparral. This plant may reach up over a meter in height and width and 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 flower clusters stick out from the plant, each with one to several heads of tiny tightly-packed frilly flowers which are usually light brownish-pink in color and quite hairy. This is the foodplant for Euphilotes bernardino, the Bernardino dotted blue butterfly.

Arrowleaf Buckwheat (Eriogonum compositum) is a native perennial herb that grows in central and northern California. It tends to grow in gravelly places, at elevations from 0-8200 feet.

Arrow Leaf Buckwheat (Eriogonum compositum var. compositum) is a native perennial herb that grows in central and northern California. It tends to grow in gravelly places, at elevations from 0-8200 feet.

Eriogonum douglasii is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Douglas' buckwheat. It is native to the western United States, including the Pacific Northwest and part of the Great Basin. This plant forms a mat of hairy herbage around a caudex. There are rosettes of lance-shaped to oval leaves with blades 0. 4 to nearly 2 centimeters long. The leaves are feltlike, covered in woolly hairs. The inflorescence arises on a solid, erect flowering stem up to 15 centimeters tall with a whorl of bracts midway up. It is a headlike cluster of cream, yellowish, or rose-pink flowers with protruding stamens.

Eriogonum elatum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name tall woolly buckwheat. It is native to the western United States from California to Idaho. This is a perennial herb varying in size from one half to 1.5 meters in height. Its long leaves are located at the base of the plant and can be quite long for a buckwheat, over 20 centimeters in maximum length. The erect, branching stems are thin and naked and occasionally hollow. The plant produces small to large flower clusters with clusters of tiny flowers in shades of white to dark pink.

California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum) is a shrub with a variable appearance, forming a patchy, compact bramble or a spreading bush. The leaves are leathery, woolly on the undersides, and rolled under along the edges. Profuse clusters of pink to white and cream-colored flowers appear as early as March and dry to a pretty red rust color.

California buckwheats are tough and easy to grow, even in very dry conditions. They prefer a well draining sunny site. Once established, no water is needed but the plant can tolerate occasional summer water. As the soil dries, it sheds its dried flowers and a significant portion of its small blade-like leaves, creating natural mulch. Low growing forms make a good spreading ground cover, and taller varieties can even be shaped into hedges.

California Buckwheat is a keystone species for sagebrush scrub ecosystems, and a great choice for wildlife and butterfly gardens. It is attractive to honey bees and a good source of nectar over many months in drier areas.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Horticultural selection from Eriogonum fasciculatum from Dana Point in Orange County. This horticultural selection blooms pretty white flowers during the summer, and has an attractive tight mounding form. The flowers are important sources of food for butterflies and birds.

Horticultural selection E. fasciculatum: origin = cuttings (1983) Dana Point headlands, south coast, Orange Co.; intro Tree of Life Nursery 1985. Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selection of foothill and desert species of southern California. Introduced by the Theodore Payne Foundation in Sun Valley.

Warriner Lytle Buckwheat, Eriogonum fasciculatum 'Warriner Lytle', is a low horticultural selection of the perennial soft woody shrub species Eriogonum fasciculatum (California Buckwheat). This tough and drought tolerant native cultivar combines the hardiness and habitat value of the species, with the garden versatility of its selected low-growing form. This dependable groundcover plant is adaptable and easy to grow.

Warriner Lytle Buckwheat can reach 1-2' high but is often more prostrate. Its arching branches can spread 4'-5' wide. Fine dark-green, needle-like green leaves are topped in the summer by globe shaped clusters of pinkish-white to cream flowers, that then age to a rusty red-brown in late summer or autumn. It adds floral color to the summer native garden, and is a major draw in butterfly, pollinator, and bird habitat gardens. This low buckwheat makes a good ground cover, or an accent plant beside patios and pathways for enjoying the blooms and many butterflies they attract. With its dense foliage coverage and deep roots this ground cover is good for erosion control, slope stabilization, suppressing weed germination, and dry hot slopes.

California Buckwheats are a favorite nectar source for many butterfly species, native leaf cutter bees, and honey bees. As the summer progresses into autumn the birds will flock to feed on the seeds. Warriner Lytle Buckwheat will tolerate almost any soil type, including clay when planted on slopes or raised mounds, and take summer's high heat. Once established it needs very little water, one can provide occasional deep watering or none. Eriogonum fasciculatum 'Warriner Lytle' was selected and introduced for gardens by the Theodore Payne Foundation in Los Angeles, who named it for one of their dedicated volunteers.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

California Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum var. fasciculatum) is a common native that grows in southern California. It tends to grow in dry south facing slopes, at elevations from 0-7500 feet.

Leafy California Buckwheat, (Eriogonum fasciculatum var. foliolosum), is one of the four recognized varieties of this widespread species, and the one most often seen in populated areas of southern California. However, it is fairly common throughout central and southern California along the coast and on western side of the peninsular range, where it grows on dry slopes, washes and canyons, at elevations from sea level to 5,200 feet.

This plant 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. Form is is variable, ranging from more often open and upright in the foothills, to often dense and mounding closer to the coast. As the plant ages, it often develops a beautiful ropy red, brown and gray ropy woody trunk and interesting twisting structure. 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 significant portion of its small blade-like leaves each dry season, and is an important plant for creating natural mulch. California Buckwheats are a keystone species for sagebrush scrub ecosystems, and a great choice for wildlife and butterfly gardens.

For further detail please refer to the listing for the main species, Eriogonum fasciculatum.

California Buckwheat has several recognized varieties that are found in different ecoregions. This variety (var. polifolium) is a smaller and grayer buckwheat, commonly found in the Sonora and Mojave deserts, although its ranges covers the southern California foothills as well. It grows in southern and central California, as well as outside of the state, on dry slopes and washes and canyons, at elevations from 200-7500 feet. It is both more heat tolerant and more cold tolerant.

This is a great plant for natural landscapes especially in the foothills and deserts in its wide natural range. The gray foliage of Interior Buckwheat is striking mixed in with green of Coastal California Buckwheat,and is great plant for attracting birds, pollinators and other wildlife. Plant in full sun in a well draining site, and avoid direct summer water once established. Very tough and easy to grow, but tends to grow more slowly than the coastal variety.

St. Catherine's lace (Eriogonum giganteum) is large and showy buckwheat endemic to the Channel Islands of California. It flowers densely, in carpets of clustered tiny pinkish white flowers. Young flower heads are white and lacy, gradually turning to warm, reddish brown over the summer. This plant is fast-growing and variable in size, from 2 feet tall and wide to a sprawling or rounded bush over 9 feet high and wide. One variety, the Santa Barbara Island buckwheat, is particularly rare so should not be planted next to wildlands, especially in areas where it can hybridize with natural populations of cross-compatible species of Eriogonum.

In the garden, the plant likes fast-draining, preferably rocky, soil and regular water until it is established. It is clay tolerant when drainage is fast. It grows in full sun and adapts to high inland temperatures but does not do well in frost. Cut back after bloom.

The UC Davis Arboretum named this wildlife-friendly plant one of its "All-Stars" for use in California landscapes. It supports honey bees, native bees, birds and small mammals and hosts a likely total of 12 species of butterfly and moths.

A member of the plant family Polygonaceae, Eriogonum gracile is an annual species of wild buckwheat native to California and to parts of northwestern Baja California. There are two named varieties, E. gracile var. gracile which is more widespread in California and has a hairier (or woollier) appearance than E. gracile var. incultum which is limited to Southern California and Baja. This small, drought tolerant annual grows in many types of habitats; in sandy as well as clay soils; and in a variety of shapes, from erect to prostrate. Showy, slender, multiply branching, stems rise above the low rosettes of gray-green, smooth to hairy (or woolly), spoon-shaped leaves. The stems are lined with small clusters of flowers in shades of white and pink or yellow during the summer months or even longer. This plant, currently available through seed companies, is a good prospect for habitat restoration and for clustering among other annuals in a wild garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers sun or part shade in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Eriogonum heracleoides (common names Parsnipflower buckwheat, Whorled buckwheat, and Wyeth buckwheat) has many flowering clusters that are cream or off-white in color. Its usual habitat is rocky areas such as sagebrush deserts and Ponderosa pine forests. Parsnipflower Buckwheat is in the genus Eriogonum and the family Polygonaceae which is a family of plants known as the "knotweed family". The Parsnipflower is a perennial flowering plant with flowers measuring 4-9 millimeter. They inhabit much of the western part of the United States. The Parsnipflower is a perennial flowering plant with flowers measuring 4-9 millimeter. Petiole leaves in loose rosettes, covered with soft hairs measuring 0.5-3 centimeter. Hairs feel woolly and matted and cover both sides of the leaf.) The flowers have one carpel (achenes). Parsnipflower Buckwheat have a whorled arrangement of leaves at midpoint of the stem.Blooms in early to mid summer. Attracts butterflies, bees, insects, and birds and is the host plant for several Palouse butterflies. )

Eriogonum kennedyi is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Kennedy's buckwheat. It is endemic to California, where it can be found in the Transverse Ranges, the Sierra Nevada foothills, and in the case of one variety, the high Sierra Nevada and far western Great Basin. It grows in dry habitat in sand or gravel. This is a perennial herb forming a small cushiony mat covered in oval leaves up to about centimeter long. The greenish leaves are coated in woolly fibers in shades of brown to pink or white. The flower cluster arises on an erect scape, or stem, bearing a head of small flowers which are white to pink with a darker midrib.

Kennedy's Buckwheat (Eriogonum kennedyi var. kennedyi) is a native perennial herb that grows in Southern and Central California, primarily in the Transverse Range region. It tends to grow in dry gravel, at elevations from 4900-8500 feet.

Coast Buckwheat (Eriogonum latifolium) is a shrub-like perennial in the Buckwheat family (Polygonaceae). It has oval, wooly white-green leaves with small, pink and white flowers in round clusters at the ends of long, wooly stems. The flowers fade to an attractive copper color in the fall.

Also known as Seaside Buckwheat, it naturally grows on coastal bluffs and slopes, where it receives full sun and all of its water from fog and rainfall.

In the garden, plant Coast Buckwheat on rocky slopes, in crevices, or sunny rock walls. When planted in its natural range, it will not need additional summer water after its first year. Provide part shade and some supplemental water when planted away from the immediate coast.

Coast Buckwheat supports many pollinators, and is an important food source for butterflies and moths. Allowing the flower stalks to remain through winter provides seeds for hungry birds.

Eriogonum marifolium is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name marumleaf buckwheat. It is native to the Sierra Nevada and Klamath Mountains of California and the ranges' extensions into Oregon and Nevada. This is a dioecious mat-forming sub-shrub which grows on sandy mountain soils. It forms patches of wavy-edged pale green leaves and has erect, branching flower clusters reaching heights of anywhere from 10 to 40 centimeters. The male and female plants are often so different in appearance that they look like separate species. The male plant produces clusters of tiny pale yellow staminate flowers and the female individuals produce clusters of much larger bright yellow or red pistillate flowers.

Eriogonum molestum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name pineland buckwheat. It is endemic to southern California, where it grows in the Transverse Ranges of Ventura County to the Peninsular Ranges of San Diego County. It is an annual herb producing a slender, erect, hairless flowering stem up to a meter tall. The woolly, rounded to oblong leaves are located around the base of the stem. The branches of the flower cluster produce many small clusters of tiny white to pinkish flowers.

Nude buckwheat (Eriogonum nudum) is a perennial shrub in the wild buckwheat family  that features a striking, upright form. It has a basal rosette of flat green leaves from which tall, bare stems rise, reaching up to six feet. At the top of these stems, rounded clusters of white, pale pink, or yellow flowers bloom, adding delicate color to the landscape.

This adaptable plant has one of the widest ecological distributions of all buckwheats. It thrives in environments ranging from wet coastal areas to the cold, dry elevations of the Sierra Nevada. While the species is generally common, certain varieties are rare.

Nude buckwheat is easy to grow and looks especially beautiful when planted in groups for a massed effect. The nectar-rich flowers attract bees, butterflies, and other pollinators, while its seeds provide food for birds. Additionally, the plant serves as a host for caterpillars, supporting native ecosystems.

Eriogonum ovalifolium is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name cushion buckwheat. It is native to western North America from California to Alberta, where it is a member of many plant communities in varied habitats. There are many varieties of this species but in general it is a tough perennial herb which forms mats in gravelly soil or amongst rocks and produces erect flower clusters up to 35 centimeters in height. The pale green to gray leaves at the base of the plant are rounded and woolly and have petioles. The clumps of flowers are yellow, light red or pink, purple, or white.

Cushion Buckwheat (Eriogonum ovalifolium var. nivale) is a common native perennial herb that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in dry sand or gravel, at elevations from 4900-13500 feet.

Eriogonum parishii is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name mountainmist. It is found mainly in southern California, where it grows in many of the mountain ranges from desert to coast, and it is also known from Baja California and Arizona. It grows in various types of mountain slope habitat, such as sagebrush and chaparral, generally on granite sands. This is an annual herb producing clumps of spreading hairless green stems which are intricately branched. The hairy oval leaves are located around the base of the stems and are 2 to 6 centimeters long. The flower cluster is a spreading array of clusters of tiny pink to reddish flowers with darker red midribs. Each individual flower is generally under a millimeter wide and fuzzy in texture.

Cascading mounds of pale pink and white flowers make sea cliff buckwheat (Erigonum parvifolium) an attractive feature of a native hillside or pollinator garden. Found on coastal cliffs in Southern and Central California, sea cliff buckwheat is also a useful selection for the home garden. It is sometimes called dune or coast buckwheat.

Sea cliff buckwheat grows in mounds up to 3 ft in width and height. This plant provides good coverage and erosion control for sloped landscapes. Alone or planted in clusters, it's also at home in rock gardens, containers, borders, and as a lawn replacement.

The small evergreen leaves are dark green, accented with a reddish tint. During the long flowering season, the blooms change from a delicate pinkish-white to a rusty brown. The blooms are an important food source for many native butterflies and moths, including endangered species such as the El Segundo Blue butterfly. 

Sea cliff buckwheat grows in full sun at the coast, but can benefit from some shade in hot inland areas. Water needs are low. Once a month watering is sufficient after the plant is established. Prune back in early spring, before flower buds appear. Deadheading is not recommended because the spent flowers provide seeds for birds and extra shade for the plants in hot weather.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and sun or part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and sun or part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Eriogonum roseum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name wand buckwheat. It is native to much of western California and the Sierra Nevada foothills, as well as parts of Oregon, and it is widespread and common in several plant communities. This is an erect annual herb reaching maximum heights of well over half a meter. Small oval leaves are located at the base of the plant and the flower cluster is slender and has few erect branches. Flower clusters are located at nodes evenly spaced along the wandlike branches. The flowers are white or shades of yellow, pink, or both.

Eriogonum trichopes is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name little desert trumpet. It is native to the mountain slopes and deserts of the southwestern United States from California to New Mexico, and its range extends into Mexico. This is an annual herb quite variable in height, growing to a spindly 10 centimeters or a sprawling, brambly 1.5 meters. Its leaves form a basal patch on the ground, each rounded with ruffled margins and covered in woolly or stiff hairs. The erect flower cluster is naked and sometimes hairy, with many slender branches that flower year-round. Flower clusters hang on short, thready stalks. Each minuscule flower is hairy or hairy and is bright yellow when new, darkening over time to a reddish color.

Sulphur buckwheat (Eriogonum umbellatum) is an attractive small perennial with cute spoon-shaped leaves and bright yellow to creamy yellow flowers. This species has many varieties. It may form a small clump with rosettes of silver-green foliage and flowers to 4 inches tall, or a sprawling shrub approaching 7 feet high and wide.  It is fast growing and flowers in summer.

Sulphur buckwheat grows in full to part sun and prefers well-draining, rocky, acidic soil. It is drought-adapted, and an important pollinator plant, hosting a likely total of 37 species of butterfly and moth.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden. Introduced by Bart O'Brien.

Eriogonum ursinum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common names Bear Valley buckwheat and talus buckwheat. It is endemic to northern California where it is found on mountains from the northern Sierra Nevada to the southern Klamath Mountains. This is an uncommon perennial herb growing mats of leaves from a woody caudex, spreading to 60 centimeters wide at the base and growing erect flower clusters up to 40 centimeters high. The leaves are pale green to yellowish, woolly, and up to about two centimeters long. The compound flower cluster is made up of clusters of pale yellow to pale pink flowers atop long, naked stems.

Eriogonum vimineum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name wickerstem buckwheat. It is native to the northwestern United States where it is common to abundant in many types of habitat. It is a slender annual herb producing flowering stems up to about 30 centimeters tall surrounded at the bases by rosettes of rounded to oval leaves. The flower cluster is a wide open array of branches lined with clusters of pink to yellowish or white flowers striped with darker midribs.

Eriogonum wrightii is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common names bastardsage and Wright's buckwheat. It is native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, where it grows in many plant communities in rocky habitats from mountains to deserts. It is quite variable in appearance; it may be a small perennial herb 10 centimeters tall or a bushy shrub over a meter wide. There are several varieties as well. In general it has basal leaves as well as a few leaves along the stem, which are usually narrow and woolly. The flower cluster has long, straight branches which may be hairless to woolly and have flower clusters and sometimes small leaves at the nodes. The flowers are usually white to light pink.

Wright's Buckwheat (Eriogonum wrightii var. subscaposum) is a native perennial herb or shrub that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in dry gravel or rocks, at elevations from 700-11200 feet.

Wright's Buckwheat (Eriogonum wrightii var. trachygonum) is a native perennial herb or shrub that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in dry gravel or rocks, at elevations from 200-11500 feet.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden and introduced by suncrest Nurseries.

Common wooly sunflower (Eriophyllum lanatum) is a perennial with yellow flowers looking much like true sunflowers. One flower head is borne on each flowering stalk, exhibiting great variability. There are many recognized varieties, some classified as rare.

Common wooly sunflower grows in full sun or part shade and is tolerant of a variety of soils including sand, clay and alkaline. It requires watering no more than once a month in summer.

It is deer resistant and supports many insects, hosting a likely total of 7 species of butterfly and moths.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Seaside Woolly Sunflower (Eriophyllum staechadifolium) is a native perennial herb in the Asteraceae (Sunflower) family that grows primarily along the coast from Santa Barbara County northward to Oregon and on the Channel Islands. It tends to grow in dunes and coastal scrub at elevations under 300 feet. The grey-green leaves are deeply lobed and have rolled-under edges. The shape of the leaves resembles a lizard when viewed from above, hence the common name "Lizard Tail". The flower heads consisting of both ray and disk florets are yellow and showy. Drought tolerant but healthier looking with occasional summer water.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Erysimum capitatum is a species of wallflower known commonly as the sanddune wallflower, western wallflower, or prairie rocket. It is a mustard-like plant with thin, erect stems growing from a basal rosette and topped with dense bunches of variably colored flowers. Flowers are most typically bright golden, yellow, tangerine-colored, but plants in some populations may have red, white or purple flowers. Each flower has four flat petals. Seed pods are nearly-parallel to the stem. Although quite variable in appearance, it is an attractive garden plant. There are several natural variants of this plant. Each is treated separately, with certain variants considered endangered species in some areas. For example Erysimum capitatum var angustatum, the Contra Costa wallflower, is an endangered plant in the state of California.

Curly Wallflower (Erysimum menziesii ssp. concinnum) is a native perennial herb that grows in Central and Northern California, primarily in the North Coast and Central Coast regions. It tends to grow in cliffs, at elevations from 0-1000 feet.

Erysimum menziesii is a species of wallflower known by the common name Menzies' wallflower. This rare plant is endemic to California. It is found only in the declining beach sand dune habitat in three areas on California coastline, in Humboldt, Mendocino, and Monterey Counties. It is listed as an endangered species on the California state and federal levels. There are three to four subspecies depending on the authority, and each is rare. Erysimum menziesii is a mustardlike biennial or perennial herb which is short in size, reaching maximum heights of usually not more than 15 centimeters. The leaves are long and straight along the stem, and often thicker, hairier, and lobed in shape at the base. The top of the stem is occupied by a thick bunch of flowers with bright yellow, rounded petals. The flowers fall away to leave behind the fruits, which are very long siliques sticking straight out. The plant can vary in appearance, particularly across subspecies. At least one subspecies is pollinated by the similarly distressed bee Emphoropsis miserabilis. The plant has high fecundity, but very low seedling survivorship, with over 98% of seedlings perishing within the first year. At least one subspecies is commonly infected with the white rust fungus Albugo canadensis.

Suffrutescent Wallflower (Erysimum insulare ssp. suffrutescens) is a rare native perennial herb that grows in Southern and Central California, primarily in the Central Coast and South Coast regions. It tends to grow in dunes and bluffs, at elevations from 0-500 feet.

Scarlet monkeyflower is a herbacious perennial in the lopseed family. It is an attractive plant which bears red or orange-red flowers and toothed, downy leaves. It is native to the southwestern United States and Baja California. It is typically found in wetlands or moist areas. It can take full sun but seems to do better with part shade. It is sometimes used as a garden plant for its blooms, which attract hummingbirds. It is a fairly large, spreading, attractive plant which bears strongly reflexed, nectar-rich red or orange-red flowers and toothed, downy leaves. It is native to the West Coast and Southwestern United States and Baja California, and is generally found at low elevation in moist areas. Occasional populations of yellow-flowered Erythranthe cardinalis (which lack anthocyanin pigments in their corollas) are found in the wild.

Erythranthe cardinalis is cultivated in the horticulture trade and widely available as an ornamental plant for traditional gardens; natural landscape, native plant, and habitat gardens; and various types of municipal, commercial, and agency sustainable landscape projects. Cultivars come in a range of colors between yellow and red, including the "Santa Cruz Island Gold" variety, originally collected from Santa Cruz Island off the coast of California.

Erythranthe parishii is a species of monkeyflower known by the common name Parish's monkeyflower. It is native to the mountains and hills of the southern half of California, far western Nevada, and northern Baja California, where it grows in wet, sandy habitat such as streambanks. It is an annual herb growing 3 to over centimeters in maximum height with a stout, hairy stem. The oppositely arranged oval or widely lance-shaped leaves are up to 7.5 centimeters long. The narrow, tubular base of the flower is encapsulated in a ribbed calyx of sepals with pointed lobes. The five-lobed flower is white, often tinged with pink.

The California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) is the state flower of California. Every garden can find a place for this easy, cheerful annual. It self-seeds freely and will give your whole neighborhood poppies, but is not particularly invasive. 

The plant grows in full sun but will tolerate part shade. It reaches one to two foot tall and can be perennial in milder areas. The feathery foliage is blue-green The flowers range from yellow to bright orange, appearing from February to September, though primarily in spring. The petals may remain closed in cloudy weather. The fruit is a slender capsule which splits to release numerous small black or dark brown seeds. The seeds are ready to take when the pods become dry and brown. Birds, butterflies, bees and other pollinators are attracted to this plant. Rabbits may browse the leaves but it is deer resistant.

It is best introduced into the garden from seed sown in fall at the start of the rainy season. Do not cover the seeds with soil or mulch. California poppies like fast draining soil and plenty of sunshine but are very hardy and will also thrive in poor soil conditions, such as clay. If planting from seedlings, be careful with the long sensitive roots and water occasionally until established.

A nursery cultivated California Poppy. Pale butter-yellow blooms tip lovely gray-green finely cut foliage. A self-sower that would be dearly missed if it didn't reappear every spring, choosing edges of paths and gravelly well-drained spots.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.