Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

St. Catherine's lace (Eriogonum giganteum) is large and showy buckwheat endemic to the Channel Islands of California. It flowers densely, in carpets of clustered tiny pinkish white flowers. Young flower heads are white and lacy, gradually turning to warm, reddish brown over the summer. This plant is fast-growing and variable in size, from 2 feet tall and wide to a sprawling or rounded bush over 9 feet high and wide. One variety, the Santa Barbara Island buckwheat, is particularly rare so should not be planted next to wildlands, especially in areas where it can hybridize with natural populations of cross-compatible species of Eriogonum.

In the garden, the plant likes fast-draining, preferably rocky, soil and regular water until it is established. It is clay tolerant when drainage is fast. It grows in full sun and adapts to high inland temperatures but does not do well in frost. Cut back after bloom.

The UC Davis Arboretum named this wildlife-friendly plant one of its "All-Stars" for use in California landscapes. It supports honey bees, native bees, birds and small mammals and hosts a likely total of 12 species of butterfly and moths.

Plant type

Shrub

Size

2 - 5 ft Tall
4 - 10 ft Wide

Form

Mounding, Rounded

Growth rate

Fast

Dormancy

Evergreen, Winter Semi-deciduous

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Color

Cream, Pink, White

Flowering season

Spring, Summer, Fall

Special uses

Bank stabilization, Deer resistant

Sun

Full Sun

Water

Very Low

Summer irrigation

Max 1x / month once established

Ease of care

Easy

Cold tolerance

Tolerates cold to 15 - 25° F

Soil drainage

Fast

Soil description

Rocky, gravelly.
Soil PH: 6.0 - 8.0

Maintenance

Pinch back rapidly-growing stem tips to increase the plant's density. Deadhead the spent flower stalks. (Remember to harvest mature seeds of some flower heads, if desired.)

Propagation

Self seeds. Hybridizes with E. arborescens and E. fasciculatum. The hybrid of E. giganteum and E. arborescens is sold as Eriogonum blissianum. For propagating by seed: No treatment.

Site type

Dry rocky places as part of coastal sage scrub or chaparral, primarily on the Channel Islands

Plant communities

Chaparral, Coastal Scrub

Trees: Island Ironwood (Lyonothamnus floribundus ssp. asplenifolius), Island Cherry (Prunus ilicifolia ssp. lyonii), Island Oak (Quercus tomentella)

Shrubs and herbs: Island Ceanothus (Ceanothus arboreus), California Encelia (Encelia californica), Island Alumroot (Heuchera maxima), Santa Rosa Island Sage (Salvia brandegeei), Manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp.), Dudleya species, Yucca species

Bats
Birds
Bees
Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

1 confirmed and 12 likely

Confirmed Likely

Avalon Hairstreak

Strymon avalona

Orange Tortrix Moth

Argyrotaenia franciscana

Bramble Hairstreak

Callophrys dumetorum

Chionodes nanodella