Eriogonum umbellatum

This charming wildflower is native to the rocky soils and mountain slopes of the western United States and Canada. This silvery-green perennial forms a dense 1-3' wide mat creating the perfect backdrop for the showy and fragrant flower clusters which appear in mid-summer. The blossoms begin a clear, sulphur- yellow before aging to burnished red. This is a brilliant addition to pollinator gardens as the blossoms attract a myriad of butterflies and bees; the seeds also attract birds. S/D/GDr

Small rosettes of deep green leaves with woolly white undersides and 3" wide umbels of sulfur yellow flowers on 4" stems, a nice form. Zone 5

This prostrate herbaceous perennial is fantastic as a colorful evergreen ground cover, growing up to 12 in tall and 18 in wide. Sulphur flower buckwheat, and is typically found at higher elevations. The erect flowering stems up to 12 in tall yellow flower heads. This plant likes well drained soil and sunny slopes. Sulphur buckwheat is not only easy to care for but is totally cute, and also has known medicinal properties. Native to California and is also found outside of California, but is confined to western North America. The seeds are an important food source for many species of birds and small mammals. It also attracts a wide variety of bees and other native pollinators. Tribes throughout western North America traditionally used different parts of the sulphur-flower buckwheat plant to treat a variety of ailments. Found in usually found in dry, open, rocky sites with shallow, sandy soils, especially on sunny slopes and ridges. . Communitites located in Sagebrush Scrub, Northern Juniper Woodland, Yellow Pine Forest, Subalpine Forest, Alpine Fell-fields, Pinyon-Juniper Woodland, Lodgepole Forest, Red Fir Forest, Foothill Woodland Between 0 and 12,139 feet.

Butterflies love this fabulously low-water native, and so do we! Soft mounds of spoon-shaped, silvery green leaves give way to masses of sulpher yellow flowers in late Spring through Summer, drawing in all manner of nectar seeking creatures. Once spent, the cheerful blooms fade to red or orange for continued interest. This species has a huge range throughout the West, and can be pretty variable in height, flower and leaf. Our plants are seed grown from populations that grow to 1' tall, spreading to 2'. Super easy to grow, and needs no supplemental water after the first year. Because of it's low, mat forming habit, this valueable habitat plant also makes a great groundcover for tough spots and dry slopes when massed. Thrives in nutrient poor soils!