Cushenbury buckwheat

While this is not a fly fishing post, this small botanic gem shares the same geologic range as the wild trout that inhabit the San Bernardino mountains.  I was fortunate enough to receive this Cushenbury buckwheat (Eriogonum ovalifolium var. vineum) from Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden.  So, I did not commit a federal crime and poach it.  This plant is listed as federally endangered and is endemic to California. It's range is restricted to the northern calcareous slopes of the San Bernardino Mountains.  So folks, be careful if you find yourself trekking through the Pinyon Juniper woodland while bushwhacking to find that secret trout stream.

Culturing such a rarity is somewhat of a mystery.  It is impossible for me to replicate the conditions of it's native geographic range.  Since I have never actually seen this plant growing in the wild, I can only assume that it prefers dry calcium rich soil.  I mixed some potting soil composed of peat moss, sand, pumice and dolomite lime (I do not remember the ratio).  The plant seems to accept the soil mixture and the light levels where it grows in my patio.  It bloomed without much care or water and it has been flowering for at least one week now.  The flower arrangement of this plant is an umbel, and each individual flower has a pedicel connecting it to the stem, like the spokes of an umbrella. Each flower is cream-white and approx. 3-4mm across.  The flower is perfect meaning it has both male and female reproductive parts and the anthers are pink-burgundy in color. It seems that the younger anthers are pink and turn burgundy as they age. The leaves are spatulate and tomemtose and measure 4-5mm across.   

This is not a plant that most people would regard as a garden plant, however it does have some ornamental value.  The compact nature of this plant would lend itself well to the shrinking urban environment.  The prostrate growth habit would do well as a ground cover and the silvery tomentose leaves would contrast nicely with certain plants.  As a purist, I would not mix this species with plants outside of its native range.  If I were to plant this I would create a rock garden with a mild-steep grade.  The plant composition would be simple and sparse, allowing the rocks to be the main showcase.  Some other herbacious-woody plants that I would incorporate would be Abronia nana, Erigeron parishii, Achnatherum hymenoides and Artemesia tridentata.  I would limit the trees and shrubs to only a few which would include, Arctostaphylos glauca, Juniperus utahensis and Pinus monophylla.  I would finish the rock garden by sowing annual wild flowers common to it's wild habitat.