Taxon Report

Eriogonum giganteum Wats. var. giganteum

Santa Catalina Island buckwheat

Print Report

Taxon Summary

Eriogonum giganteum var. giganteum, commonly known as Santa Catalina Island buckwheat, is a perennial evergreen shrub in the Polygonaceae that is found only in California. It occurs within Chaparral, and Coastal scrub, growing at elevations from 10 to 535 meters. Eriogonum giganteum var. giganteum is ranked 4.3, Plants of Limited Distribution, A Watch List; Not very threatened in California.

Classification


Scientific Name:	Eriogonum giganteum Wats. var. giganteum
Common Name:	Santa Catalina Island buckwheat
Family:	Polygonaceae
Element Code:	PDPGN082A3
USDA Plants Symbol:	ERGIG
Synonyms/Other Names:

Ecology and Life History


Lifeform:	perennial evergreen shrub
Blooming Period: Mar-Oct	Mar-Oct
Elevation:	10-535 (35-1755)
General Habitats:	Chaparral, Coastal scrub
Microhabitat:	Rocky
Microhabitat Details:

Conservation Status


CA Rare Plant Rank:	4.3
Global Rank:	G3T3
State Rank:	S3
State List:	None
Fed List:	None
Other Status:	SB_CalBG/RSABG
CRPR Changes:

Occurrence Data from the CNDDB


Total Occurrences:	0
Element Occurrence Ranks:
Excellent (A)	0
Good (B)	0
Fair (C)	0
Poor (D)	0
None (X)	0
Unknown (U)	0

Location


California Endemic: True
California Counties and Islands: Name (Code)
Los Angeles (LAX)
Quads: Name (Quad Code)
Santa Catalina East (3311833), Santa Catalina North (3311844), Santa Catalina South (3311834), Santa Catalina West (3311845)

Threat List Data from the CNDDB


Threat List Total:	0
EOs with Threat Listed:	Total EOs	% of EOs
	0	0 %

Notes



Widely planted on mainland; potentially causing loss of reproductive isolation within the whole of the E. fasciculatum / E. giganteum complex. Introduced on SCZ Isl., but removal efforts ongoing. Threatenedy by development. Possibly threatened by road maintenance. See Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 20:371 (1885) for original description, and Phytologia 66(4):295-414 (1989) for taxonomic treatment.
Threats:

Taxonomy:

Selected References

Citation California Native Plant Society, Rare Plant Program. 2025. Rare Plant Inventory (online edition, v9.5.1). Website https://www.rareplants.cnps.org [accessed 14 December 2025].