GARDENING : SAFFRON BUCKWHEAT SHRUB HAILS FROM NEXT-DOOR NEIGHBOR.

Byline: Joshua Siskin

Last year, I visited Tarweed Native Plant Nursery in Chatsworth and came home with an intriguing, little plant known as saffron buckwheat - ``Conejo Valley'' saffron buckwheat, to be precise.

Yes, this is a relative of the very same annual buckwheat whose seeds are made into flour used in pancake mixes, although none of the buckwheats could be mistaken for wheat, oats, corn or any other cereal crop.

The ``buck'' in buckwheat is actually derived from the word ``beech.''

The fruits of buckwheat bear a resemblance to the nutlike fruits of the beech tree.

The saffron buckwheat is a compact mini-shrub that grows just 18 inches tall and 2 feet wide. It is native to Ventura County, and may be found both along the coast and inland.

The buckwheat family (Polygonaceae) consists almost entirely of ornamental perennials, many of which are drought tolerant.

At this moment, the sulfur-yellow flowers of the saffron buckwheat are blooming above circular, woolly gray leaves.

Woolly leaves are an unmistakable sign of drought tolerance, just as they carry a caution statement: ``Keep us dry or we will rot.''

Lamb's ears (Stachys byzantina) is probably the most famous plant with woolly leaves and it, too, does not survive for long if watered with overhead sprinklers.

The botanical name for the saffron buckwheat is Eriogonum crocatum.

The species name ``crocatum'' can be traced back to the Hebrew word ``karkom,'' which actually means crocus. So shouldn't this plant rightfully be known as the crocus - and not the saffron - buckwheat?

Well, as anyone familiar with spices and their origins knows, saffron is produced from the stigmas (female flower parts) of the purple Mediterranean crocus.

The fact that the petals of that crocus are purple, however, is of little significance beside the orange and yellow colors of the costly saffron dyes, spices and perfumes yielded by its threadlike stigmas.

Saffron is the most expensive spice on Earth.

It takes 6,000 buckwheat crocus flowers to produce a single ounce - worth $45 - of saffron. Just as the word ``karkom,'' found in the Song of Songs (4:14) in a description of sweet-smelling herbs, is translated as saffron, so the species name ``crocatum'' indicates a saffron-yellow color.

All that said, the saffron buckwheat is one of the more obscure members of its botanical group. In the ornamental garden, you are more likely to see St. Catherine's lace (Eriogonum giganteum).

It has large, oval gray leaves and flat, yarrowlike clusters of lacy white flowers, which fade to brown but remain on the plant for several months.

As dried flowers, they are commonly used in vase arrangements.

One of the most frequently encountered native plants, found in undeveloped chaparral from Tujunga to Ventura, and from Lancaster to Valencia, is the common buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum).

It grows to a height of about 4 feet with white and pink flowers. This buckwheat is used for erosion control on slopes and for revegetation of fire-ravaged areas.

Many plants, among them buckwheats and other California natives, started blooming later than usual this year.

A likely explanation is the enormous amount of rain we had this past winter.

Certain dry-climate plants are acutely aware of the moisture level of the soil.

Flowering may be a response, in part, to stress brought on by soil dryness. As soil dries, a plant senses that its annual period of growth is coming to an end and quickly flowers to produce seeds.

By the same token, where soil moisture is high for many months, vegetative (stem and leaf) growth will be prolonged, while reproductive (flower) growth will be delayed.

Floran Frank of Burbank inquires about the identity of a plant from Madagascar that flowers all the time.

Actually, the flowers of this mystery plant are not flowers but bracts, which are modified leaves. It's a thorny plant, and its name is crown-of-thorns (Euphorbia Milii).

In the Valley, it grows best in half-day sun or light shade. Its brilliant scarlet bracts are truly on display 365 days a year. It grows to 4 feet tall and makes a stunning hedge.

It is, however, sensitive to cold, so keep it in a somewhat protected microclimate unless you live at the beach.

A nonstop bloomer for a similar microclimate is Fuchsia triphylla (``Gartenmeister Bonstedt'').

This so-called garden master fuchsia will make itself comfortable in any partial sun/partial shade garden, showing pendulous orange-red flowers 365 days a year as long as it can be sheltered from the cold.

Tip of the week: Before it's too late, catch a glimpse of the longest, most audacious stretch of orange and yellow lantana in existence, planted along the Burbank railroad tracks. Frank informs me that this lantana may soon be demolished to make way for a bike path.