Saffron wild buckwheat
Eriogonum crocatum
Last reviewed: November 2026
Saffron wild buckwheat (Eriogonum crocatum) is a perennial shrub native to CA. It blooms in May, June, and July. The flowers draw bees and butterflies.
Watering reminders and freeze alerts for Saffron wild buckwheat, free in the app.
Toxicity unknown
Saffron wild buckwheat (Eriogonum crocatum) is not listed by the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (opens in new tab) or the other sources we check, so we have no verdict for it either way. Absence from those lists is not a clearance. If your pet shows symptoms after eating any plant, call the ASPCA at (888) 426-4435.
Light
full sun
Water
low
Size
8"–16" H × 18"–36" W
Bloom
May, Jun, Jul
Native to
CA
Pollinators
bees, butterflies
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A low mounding subshrub with felted silver-gray leaves and flattened clusters of bright yellow flowers held above the foliage in summer. Well suited to dry rocky sites where little else thrives.
Growing Saffron wild buckwheat
Grow Saffron wild buckwheat in full sun and low water. Mature plants reach 8 to 16 inches tall and spread 18 to 36 inches wide.
How to care for Saffron wild buckwheat, by region
How to care for Saffron wild buckwheat where it is actually grown: year-round basics plus what to do each season, region by region, with the sources for each.
Care guidance last updated: October 2026
Southern California/Northern Baja Coast (includes Los Angeles, CA)
Year-round
Conejo buckwheat is a low, silvery, mounding shrub with sulfur-yellow flower clusters that bees and butterflies visit. It is a rare plant from a small area just north of Los Angeles, and it likes sun and dry ground.
- Give it full sun. Calscape lists very low to low water, at most about three times a month in summer once established.
- It grows 7 to 36 inches tall and 2 to 3 feet wide with silvery, woolly foliage.
- Calscape says it is endemic to the Conejo Valley area of Ventura County and probably does best in coastal southern California. Los Angeles is nearby, but treat it as a trial plant in your yard.
- Calscape lists many native bees, butterflies, moths and hoverflies as visitors, and 29 butterfly and moth species whose caterpillars use it as a host.
- Theodore Payne calls it a rare plant and says it is good for rock gardens and slopes.
The neat, mounded shape and silver foliage suit a front-yard rock garden or slope.
Fall
Fall is a good time to let rain take over the watering.
- Calscape lists it as evergreen, so leave the silvery foliage in place.
- Ease off supplemental water as rains return. Calscape lists very low to low water needs.
- Calscape says seeds need no pretreatment, if you want to start new plants.
- Keep the planting spot on a slope or in rocky soil so water drains.
Winter
Winter is mostly a hands-off season for this plant.
- Calscape lists it as tolerating cold to 30 F and Theodore Payne lists it as hardy to 15 F.
- Skip supplemental water when it rains.
- Leave the evergreen foliage in place.
- Check that no water pools around the base after storms.
Spring
Spring is when the plant starts to bloom, so keep watering light.
- Calscape lists bloom from April through August, with bright sulfur-yellow clusters.
- Water lightly. Calscape lists very low to low water needs.
- Pick a spot where water does not pool, since it comes from dry hillsides and rock faces.
- Bees, butterflies and hoverflies visit the flowers.
Summer
Summer is a dry season for this plant, so water very little once it is established.
- Calscape lists at most about three summer waterings a month once established.
- Theodore Payne lists it as summer dormant, while Calscape says it has no dormancy period, so a dull look in a hot dry spell may be normal.
- Do not water more just because it slows down.
- Flowers continue into August per Calscape.
Sources: Calscape: Eriogonum crocatum (Conejo buckwheat), Theodore Payne Foundation: Eriogonum crocatum
Wildlife value
A significant nectar source for native bees and butterflies, including specialist buckwheat-feeding insects.
Common questions
- How much sun does Saffron wild buckwheat need?
- Saffron wild buckwheat grows best in full sun conditions.
- When does Saffron wild buckwheat bloom?
- Saffron wild buckwheat blooms in May, June, and July.
- Where is Saffron wild buckwheat native?
- Saffron wild buckwheat (Eriogonum crocatum) is native to CA, per the World Checklist of Vascular Plants (Kew).
- What pollinators does Saffron wild buckwheat attract?
- Saffron wild buckwheat draws bees and butterflies.
Native range data from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants (Kew). Pollinator and host plant associations compiled from GBIF, iNaturalist, and published ecological literature.
If something looks wrong
Common plant problems, and what to check first
These come up on almost any plant. Each guide lists the likely causes in the order they are worth ruling out, with one thing to check before you act on any of them, and links to the source it came from.
- It is dying right after planting
- Leaves turning yellow
- Wilting even though I watered it
- Brown crispy leaf tips
- Bugs on the plant
Ready to grow Saffron wild buckwheat? Add it to your garden in the Pollinator Patch App to track it and get season-by-season care guidance.