Eriogonum gracillimum – “Rose and White Buckwheat”

Family: Buckwheat (Polygonaceae)
Bloom period: year-round
Form: Annual herb
Habitat: Sandy and gravelly soils
Leaves: spatulate on long petioles, rolled-under margins; basal rosette, few leaves on stem are linear
Translation: “Eriogonum” is Greek for “woolly joint” and refers to the fuzzy-looking flowers that grow at the stem joints of some species in this genus (but not this one); “gracillimum” is Latin for “most graceful,” which describes the plant well.
Native American Uses: The Tübatulabal used an infusion of the entire plant to treat acne.
Animal Associations: Host plant for Acmon Blue butterfly.