Eriastrum abramsii

Abrams' woolly-star

Family: Polemoniaceae · Type: annual · Native

Abrams' woolly-star is a California native annual found in northern coastal and southern coastal regions, including San Francisco Bay and coastal ranges, in edges of chamise chaparral thickets on hillsides and in canyons at elevations of 650 to 900 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces delicate pale blue to white flowers in small heads with 6 to 10 blooms open simultaneously, creating a soft, woolly appearance. Growing 6 to 15 centimeters tall with stems that are densely white-woolly and either single or branching from the base, it forms compact clusters in its native habitat. Its leaves are medium green with distinctive thread-like lobes, typically 8 to 30 millimeters long and covered in white wool, especially at the base. The plant produces small triangular capsules that are straw-colored, smooth, and shiny, each containing a single brown seed that becomes slimy when wet.

Habitat: Edges of chamise chaparral thickets on hillsides or in canyons

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: 650-900 m

Bioregions: NCoRI, SnFrB, SCoRI.

California counties: Lake, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Colusa, Stanislaus, San Benito, Contra Costa

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.