Full sun; shale, gravelly soil, extreme drainage; endemic to shale barrens, yellow buckwheat is one of a handful of Eastern species of the genus Eriogonum, the West being fortunate to have many; it has oblong, wooly leaves in whorls, stems freely branched with flat-topped clusters of numerous yellow flowers, long blooming; for rock gardens and sloping areas of shale gravel; 1’-2’ tall; July-Sept.; zones; 4-8 Va., VA. ecotype.