Greene's wild buckwheat

Eriogonum greenei A. Gray, Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 12: 83. 1876; E. niveum Douglas ex Bentham var. greenei (A. Gray) S. Stokes

Plants dense mats, 2-10 dm wide. Leaf blades ovate, 0.5-1 cm, densely white-lanate to tomentose on both surfaces. Inflorescences 3-5 cm; branches tomentose. Involucres 4-6 × 2-3 mm, tomentose. Flowers 4-5 mm; perianth white.

Flowering Jun-Sep. Rocky, typically serpentine flats, slopes, and ridges, sagebrush communities, montane conifer woodlands; 1500-2400 m; Calif.

Variety greenei is restricted to the North Coast Ranges of northwestern California (Humboldt, Mendocino, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity counties). In the herbarium, it is occasionally difficult to distinguish from nonserpentine populations of var. proliferum. The variety is worthy of cultivation.