Snow Buckwheat

Eriogonum niveum

Polygonaceae

• Spokane Native
• Sun
• Size: 8"-18" tall x 16" - 24"wide
• Drought Tolerant: Yes
• Evergreen: semi
• Flower Color: white to pink (June - September)
• Wildlife Value: bumblebees, bees, butterflies, host plant for butterfly larva, birds, and mammals

Snow Buckwheat is a freely-branched perennial subshrub native to the sagebrush deserts and dry ponderosa pine forests of eastern Washington, including the Spokane area. This mounding plant develops a woody base and sends up numerous erect branches that form attractive clumps up to sixteen inches tall and two feet wide. The species thrives in deep or sandy, well-drained soils in full sun, though it will tolerate partial shade such as found in open pine hillsides. Once established, its woody taproot seeks out water deep in the soil, making the plant exceptionally drought-tolerant and an excellent choice for xeriscaping and low-water landscapes.

The distinctive frosty-green foliage is densely covered with gray-woolly hairs on both sides, creating a silvery appearance that gives the plant its common name and provides a cooling visual effect in late summer gardens. The small, oblong to broadly lanceolate leaves are mostly basal and tufted, each about as long as its petiole. From June through September, the plant produces long-lasting sprays of tiny flowers held in large, airy inflorescences that are gray-woolly throughout. The delicate cream to pink flowers are borne in conic involucres throughout the branched flowering stems, creating a cloud-like display that stands well above the foliage and remains attractive for months.

Snow Buckwheat serves as a critical resource for native pollinators, with flowers that attract bumblebees, native bees, flies, butterflies, beetles, and wasps throughout its extended bloom period. Like other Eriogonum species, it serves as a larval host plant for several butterfly species including the Dotted Blue, Blue Copper, Green Hairstreaks, and Acmon Blue. The achenes (seeds) provide valuable food for songbirds and small mammals, extending the plant's wildlife value into fall and winter. Native American tribes, including those of the Columbia Basin, traditionally utilized various Eriogonum species for food and medicinal purposes, though specific ethnobotanical uses for this species are not extensively documented.

This versatile subshrub excels as a groundcover or accent plant in rock gardens, xeriscapes, and dry sunny beds where its late-season blooms provide color when many other natives have finished flowering. Snow Buckwheat is particularly effective for erosion control on slopes and banks, where its deep taproot anchors soil and its low-water needs make it ideal for challenging sites. Plant it in mass groupings for dramatic effect, or use as a specimen plant in smaller gardens. It pairs beautifully with other dry-site eastern Washington natives including bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata), needle-and-thread grass (Hesperostipa comata), silky lupine (Lupinus sericeus), gray rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa), and green rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus), blooming at approximately the same time as the rabbitbrushes to create stunning late-summer combinations.