Plant Name: Eriogonum umbellatum
Common name: Sulphur Flower Buckwheat
Plant type: Herbaceous Perennial
Height: ½’ – 1’
Spread: 1’ – 3’
Bloom Time: May – September
Flower Color: Cream or Yellow
Exposure: Sun, Part Shade
Soil Requirements: Gravelly Soil
Water Needs: Low
Attributes: Leaves are green above and gray-woolly beneath. Flower clusters occur on 6-9 in. stems. The cream to sulfur-yellow, tubular flowers fade to orange or red. Flowers are showy & fragrant. Drought- tolerant
Note: This is an exceedingly variable species with many different varieties & subspecies, and this adds to the difficulties of identification in a complex group of similar western species. Because the species is so variable, it is especially important to choose material from a habitat that matches your site. Propagate by thickly planting seed; does not transplant well due to long tap root.
Uses: Attracts butterflies, native bees, & birds. Native Gardens; Rock Gardens; Pollinator gardens; Dry rocky slopes.
Native to: California, Oregon, Western US & Canada
Oregon Native: YES
USDA Hardiness Zone: 4 – 8
Find seeds through native seed growers: Klamath-Siskiyou Native Seeds, and Plant World Seeds
Report by: Viki Ashford,
Photo 1 by: Carlotta Lucas
Photo 2 by: Klamath-Siskiyou Native Seeds