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.