Hiking along the dunes near our home, we took a second look at the Coast Buckwheat (Eriogonum latifolium).  Last time I remember seeing these guys, they were just about to flower.

Above, the Coast Buckwheat is poking out of the Ice Plant (Carpobrotus edulis [invasive]) and Coyote Brush (Baccharis pilularis).  Their puffy florets really pop.  Cactus Blog has a great shot of these composite flowers just starting to open.

The flower clusters turn from a creamy white to a pink…then finally to a rusty orange.  You can see above that the flowers are just starting to turn a pinkish hue.  Hey, does anybody know if this is common in the POLYGONACEAE, aka…the Buckwheat Family?

Some other common names for this California native include Coast Eriogonum, Wild Buckwheat, and Seaside Buckwheat.  I wanna give a shout out to Sharon K. for IDing this wildflower for us back in June.

–Far Out Flora