Eriophyllum lanatum

Common woolly sunflower
Dark Divide in Washington
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Eriophyllum
Species: E. lanatum
Binomial name
Eriophyllum lanatum
(Pursh) Forbes
Synonyms[1][2]

Eriophyllum lanatum, with the common names common woolly sunflower and Oregon sunshine, is a common, widespread, North American plant in the sunflower family.[3][4][2]

Taxonomy

The Lewis and Clark Expedition reportedly saw this plant growing above their camp on the Clearwater River (near present-day Kamiah, Idaho), and collected two specimens of the then scientifically unnamed plant on 6 June 1806. Botanist Frederick Traugott Pursh studied the plants collected on the Lewis and Clark Expedition, after their return to the east. His first classification and naming of the species, as Actinella lanata, was published in his 1813 book A Systematic Arrangement and Description of The Plants of North America.

The name "woolly sunflower" is often used to describe any member of the genus Eriophyllum.

Distribution

Eriophyllum lanatum is native to western North America, commonly growing in many dry, open places below 10,000 feet (3,000 m) in elevation. It prefers full sun and well-drained soil, but it also grows on rocky slopes and bluffs.

It is most common across California, in chaparral, oak woodland, mixed evergreen forest, and yellow pine forest and other conifer forests, grassland, and sagebrush scrub habitats.[3]

It also grows north through Oregon into British Columbia and east through Idaho into Wyoming, and through Nevada into Utah.[3][5] Its range reaches south into Mexico in Baja California state.[2]

Description

Eriophyllum lanatum is a perennial herb growing from 1 to 2 feet (30 to 60 centimeters) in height. The woolly sunflower grows in well-branched clumps. Both stems and leaves may be covered with a woolly gray hair, but some plants lack this hair. The hairs conserve water by reflecting heat and reducing air movement across the leaf's surface. The hairs impart a dusty gray color to the plant.[2]

The leaves are linear on the upper stems; the lower portions of the stem have slender, pinnately lobed leaves.[2]

Inflorescence

Flowers are yellow and composite, looking much like true sunflowers, and sometimes grow to 2 inches (5 cm) wide. Both the ray and disk flowers are yellow, with one flower head on each flowering stalk.[2][6]

It blooms from May to August,[3][4]

Varieties

Varieties include:[2][3][6]

References

  1. ↑ The Plant List, Eriophyllum lanatum (Pursh) J.Forbes
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Tropicos, Eriophyllum lanatum (Pursh) J. Forbes
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 University of California, Calflora taxon report: Eriophyllum lanatum (Pursh) James Forbes
  4. 1 2 Sierra Nevada Wildflowers, Karen Wiese, 2nd Ed. 2013, p. 116
  5. ↑ Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  6. 1 2 Flora of North America, Eriophyllum lanatum (Pursh) J. Forbes, 1833. Common woolly sunflower
  7. ↑ Calflora: Eriophyllum lanatum var. achilleoides
  8. ↑ Calflora: Eriophyllum lanatum var. arachnoideum
  9. ↑ Calflora: Eriophyllum lanatum var. croceum
  10. ↑ Calflora: Eriophyllum lanatum var. grandiflorum
  11. ↑ Calflora: Eriophyllum lanatum var. hallii
  12. ↑ Calflora: Eriophyllum lanatum var. integrifolium
  13. ↑ Calflora: Eriophyllum lanatum var. lanceolatum
  14. ↑ Calflora: Eriophyllum lanatum var. obovatum
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