Eriophyllum lanatum var. arachnoideum

Common woolly sunflower

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Common woolly sunflower is a California native perennial found in northern coastal California bioregions including North Coast, Central Coast, and San Francisco Bay Area in ocean bluffs, mixed-evergreen forests, and moist places at elevations below 400 meters. Flowering from April to August, this plant produces golden-yellow ray flowers 8 to 10 millimeters long in distinctive heads with 12 to 13 rays. Growing with slender stems 15 to 40 centimeters tall, occasionally producing stolons that allow it to spread. Its leaves are diamond-shaped, 2 to 5 centimeters long, with proximal leaves having 3 to 5 sharp lobes and woolly undersides that give the plant its characteristic texture. The plant produces small fruits 2 to 4 millimeters long, typically without a prominent pappus.

Habitat: Ocean bluffs, +- moist places, often in mixed-evergreen or redwood forest

Bloom period: Apr-Aug

Elevation: < 400 m

Bioregions: NCo, NCoRO, CCo, SnFrB.

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