Eriophyllum lanatum var. croceum

Common woolly sunflower

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Common woolly sunflower is a California native perennial found in the Sierra Nevada Mountains under conifer forests at elevations of 1,300 to 2,000 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces golden-yellow ray flowers 8 to 10 millimeters long in distinctive sunflower-like heads. Growing with often stoloniferous stems, it forms low-spreading clumps typically 15 to 30 centimeters tall with a delicate, sprawling habit. Its leaves are oblanceolate to obovate, 2 to 5 centimeters long, with coarsely serrated edges and a silky-woolly underside that gives the plant its distinctive fuzzy texture. The flower heads emerge on slender peduncles 3 to 8 centimeters long, creating a delicate, airy appearance in mountain forest understories.

Habitat: Generally under conifers

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: 1300-2000 m

Bioregions: SNH.

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