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Santa Cruz Island Buckwheat
Eriogonum arborescens
  
About Santa Cruz Island Buckwheat (Eriogonum arborescens) 55 Nurseries Carry This Plant Eriogonum arborescens is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Santa Cruz Island buckwheat. This shrub is endemic to the Channel Islands of California.

The stems bear narrow, fuzzy green leaves at the ends of the branches. The bush erects clusters of densely clustered, frilly flowers. Each flower is tiny, very light pink in color, with nine protruding stamens. The flowers turn brown as they age. The bark is red and ribbony.

This is an uncommon plant in its native range on a few of the Channel Islands. It has also been planted as highway landscaping and in gardens on mainland California, where the shrub is not native.

Santa Cruz Island Buckwheat is easy to grow. Plant on dry, well drained shallow slopes or flats, and surround with plenty of mulch or rocks. It's extremely drought tolerant, and after the first two years should need no supplemental summer water. Even when drought-stressed in the summer, the plant looks beautiful, turning a beautiful silvery green color as the soil dries out.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Shrub

Size
Size
1.6 - 7 ft tall
2 - 9 ft wide

Form
Form
Mounding, Spreading

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Moderate, Slow

Dormancy
Dormancy
Evergreen

Fragrance
Fragrance
None

Flower Color
Flower Color
Brown, Pink, White

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring, Summer, Fall

Wildlife Supported
 
Attracts various birds and insects

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 23 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Very Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Very Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 10° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium, Slow

Soil Description
Soil Description
Tolerant of sand and clay. Soil PH: 6.0 - 8.0

Common uses
Common uses
Bank Stabilization, Deer Resistant, Bird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Bee Gardens

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
Island companion plants include Santa Cruz Island Ironwood, Island Live Oak, Island Bristleweed, Channel Island Tree Poppy and Giant Coreopsis. Other chaparral and sage scrub companions include California Encelia, California Sagebrush, Bladderpod, and Ceanothus spp.

Maintenance
Maintenance
Usually not needed

Propagation
Propagation?
For propagating by seed: No treatment.

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
5, 7, 8*, 9*, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Dry slopes, bluffs, and canyons on Santa Cruz, Anacapa and Santa Rosa Islands, as part of the island form of chaparral and coastal sage scrub. The predominant atmospheric conditions are strongly marine influenced.

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 11.8" - 23.6", Summer Precipitation: 0.14" - 0.40", Coldest Month: 47.4" - 56.0", Hottest Month: 62.3" - 71.1", Humidity: 1.28" - 15.81", Elevation: 0" - 1688"


Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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