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Eriogonum fasciculatum 'Warriner Lytle' (California Buckwheat) - A sprawling low growing California buckwheat that on occasion can grow to 2 feet tall but is often more prostrate, hugging the ground like a mat to about 4 feet wide. It has attractive fine-textured dark green small needle-like leaves held in fascicles and an arching habit that is somewhat reminiscent of a prostrate rosemary. In summer appear the tight round clusters of creamy white to pink flowers with turn to a rust color.
Plant in full sun and irrigate only occasionally to very little. It is cold hardy to around 15° F. This is a great plant for dry slopes.
The species Eriogonum fasciculatum is called California buckwheat and it is widespread throughout the southern half of California, east into Arizona, Nevada and Utah and south into northwestern Mexico and there are a number of described varieties and cultivars. The name for the genus comes from the Greek words 'erion' meaning "wool" and 'gonu' meaning a "joint" or a "knee" which refers to the hairy joints of the type species, Eriogonum tomentosum. The specific epithet is in reference to the fascicled arrangement of the leaves. This cultivar 'Warriner Lytle' is a selection introduced by the Theodore Payne Foundation and was named for one of their dedicated volunteers.
Carol Bornstein, co-author of California Native Plants for the Garden and past director of horticulture at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden noted that this tough dependable groundcover is the one cultivar of Eriogonum fasciculatum that usually drew her eye as she walked the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden grounds. As noted in the book she wrote with Dave Fross and Bart O'Brien, "this is likely the most adaptable ground cover buckwheat". We first received our stock on this plant in 2006 from Tom Nuccio of the famous Camellia Nursery Nuccio's Nurseries and grew and sold it from 2007 until 2024.
The information displayed on this page about Eriogonum fasciculatum 'Warriner Lytle' is based on the research we have conducted about it in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about this plant as it grows in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant have performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we have received from others and welcome hearing from anyone with information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information that will aid others to better grow it.
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