Eriogonum umbellatum var. covillei
Coville's sulphur flower
Family: Polygonaceae · Type: perennial · Native
Coville's sulphur flower is a California native perennial found in the central Sierra Nevada Mountains of Inyo and Tulare counties and the northern White Mountains of Mono County on gravelly or rocky sites at elevations of 3,000 to 3,600 meters. Flowering from July to September, this plant produces distinctive yellow flowers 2 to 4 millimeters long in compact umbels. Growing as a low mat 1 to 5 meters in diameter with stems 3 to 9 centimeters tall that are softly tomentose to nearly smooth, it forms dense ground-hugging clusters. Its small leaves are 3 to 6 millimeters long, generally covered in soft woolly hairs, and clustered tightly around the stem. The plant's compact mat-like growth and bright yellow flowers make it a distinctive alpine wildflower adapted to harsh, rocky mountain environments.
Habitat: Gravel or rocks
Bloom period: Jul-Sep
Elevation: 3000-3600 m
Bioregions: c&s SNH (Inyo, Tulare cos.), W&I (n White Mtns, Mono Co.).
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.