DonateIsland View
So Close but Worlds Apart
The Galápagos of North America
The Island View Section is a display garden featuring wild and cultivated plants unique to the Channel Islands of California and Baja California, Mexico. This section of Santa Barbara Botanic Garden overlooks the Pacific Ocean and the Channel Islands, which range from 11 to 65 miles (17 to 104 kilometers) off the coast, and on most days three are visible from the lookout point.
Many of the plants found on the Channel Islands can be found nowhere else on Earth. Isolated from the mainland, these plants grow in foggy, salty, and windy conditions, which have encouraged unique adaptations. Without the pressure of large herbivores such as rabbits and deer, plants there often grow larger and have bigger leaves than their close relatives on the mainland. The islands are also a refuge for species that are now extinct on the mainland, so new species and ancient lineages mingle there.
Noteworthy Plants
‘La Luna’ desert mallow
Sphaeralcea fulva ‘La Luna’
This is a Garden introduction that comes from the coastal desert scrub vegetation of Baja California.
‘Canyon Gray’ California sagebrush
Artemisia californica ‘Canyon Gray’
Another Garden introduction, this low-growing form of California sagebrush was originally found growing in a wind-swept area on San Miguel Island.
Santa Cruz Island ironwood
Lyonothamnus floribundus ssp. aspleniifolius
Fossils from 13 million years ago indicate that relatives of these trees used to be widespread across North America, but now this species can only be found on the Channel Islands.
Island mallow
Malva assurgentiflora
An unusual shrub with a thick succulent stem, it can be found on coastal bluffs on the Channel Islands. It has become naturalized to some areas along the immediate coast of mainland California.
Red flowered buckwheat
Eriogonum grande var. rubescens
Growing on the cliffs on three of the northern Channel Islands, this species of native buckwheat has striking pink flowers that attract butterflies.
Giant coreopsis
Leptosyne gigantea
This species grows on coastal bluffs along the mainland shores but is more common on the Channel Islands. It is dormant during the summertime, storing energy in its thick succulent stem.
Seasonality
Bursting with Color
The flowering season of the Channel Islands is similar to the flowering season of mainland California, with most plants in bloom in the spring and summer. One favorite is the Giant coreopsis (Leptosyne gigantea) which can grow up to 6 feet tall (over 1 meter) and typically blooms from January to April. Other plants — like native buckwheats (Eriogonum sp.) — flower through the fall.
Giant coreopsis (Leptosyne gigantea) puts on a show of flowers in the spring. In the summer and fall it’s easier to see the succulent stem that helps it survive the long months without rain. (Photo: Scot Pipkin)
The Island View Section is landscaped with many special selections of plants from the Channel Islands including purple De la Mina Verbena (Verbena ‘De la Mina’) and ‘La Luna’ desert mallow (Sphaeralcea fulva ‘La Luna’). (Photo: Randy Wright)
De la Mina Verbena (Verbena ‘De la Mina’) is a selection of Cedros Island verbena (Verbena lilacina) with distinctive fragrant purple flowers. (Photo: Greg Trainor)
Nevin’s wooly sunflower (Constancea nevinii) is found on coastal bluffs of the southern Channel Islands. (Photo: Caitlin Lam)
Hummingbird nest in Catalina ironwood (Lyonothamnus floribundus) on east wall of Pritzlaff Conservation Center. (Photo: Elizabeth Collins)