The Santa Barbara island buckwheat (Eriogonum giganteum var. compactum) is an endemic plant to Santa Barbara Island and closely related to the much larger “St. Catherine's lace” (Eriogonum giganteum var. giganteum) which is endemic to Santa Catalina Island.

The Santa Barbara island buckwheat is a coastal sage scrub that is usually found in the coastal sage and chaparral sub-regions. It blooms from around April to October in a dense cluster of tiny white flowers that eventually fade to the reddish hue that you can see in these photos! When blooming, it is an important pollinator to California’s native insects and a great source of butterfly nectar too.