California buckwheat is a native southwestern shrub, inhabiting scrubby hillsides, chaparral,
and dry washes. Several hardy cultivars are favored for landscaping.
Plants: Shrubs are tough, woody, disheveled and somewhat shabby looking,
a thickly clustered mixture of dead and living branches. It may form a compact mat or approach 6½′ (2 m) in
height and up to 9½′ (3 m) across.
Leaves: Leaves grow in clusters from stem joints. Each leaf is
⅛-½″ (6-15 mm) long. They are narrow, about 1/32-⅛″ (0.5-4 mm) wide, with woolly undersides,
and folded under.
They are waxy and green to retain moisture, and during the hottest part of the year, many drop
off as further protection against moisture loss. Plants that shed leaves against the heat are
drought deciduous.
Flowers: Flowers are ball-shaped clusters of white and pink,
at the end of long stems. They resemble pom-poms. Individual flowers are about ⅛″ (3 mm)
across, and flowerheads are about
1-6″ (2.5-15 cm) in diameter. The individual flowers have six white or sometimes pale pink petals.
Long white stamens are tipped with dark pink anthers.
Buds are dark pink, and old flowers are red-brown. Flowers appear from March to June.
Fruits: Light brown to brown, ~1/16″ (1.8-2.5 mm).