Eriophyllum lanatum facts for kids

Quick facts for kids 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
Synonymy Actinella lanata Pursh 1813 Actinea lanata (Pursh) Steud. Bahia lanata (Pursh) DC. Helenium lanatum (Pursh) Spreng. Trichophyllum lanatum (Pursh) Nutt. Eriophyllum caespitosum Douglas ex Lindl. Eriophyllum harfordii Rydb. Eriophyllum pedunculatum A.Heller Eriophyllum superbum Rydb. Bahia achillioides DC., syn of var. achillioides Eriophyllum achilleoides (DC.) Greene, syn of var. achillioides Eriophyllum greenei Elmer, syn of var. achillioides Eriophyllum idoneum Jeps., syn of var. achillioides Eriophyllum ternatum Greene, syn of var. achillioides Bahia arachnoidea Fisch. & Avé-Lall., syn of var. arachnoideum Bahia latifolia Lindl. 1853 not Benth. 1844, syn of var. arachnoideum Bahia trolliifolia (Lag.) DC., syn of var. arachnoideum Eriophyllum arachnoideum (Fisch. & Avé-Lall.) Greene, syn of var. arachnoideum Eriophyllum trolliifolium Lag., syn of var. arachnoideum Eriophyllum croceum Greene, syn of var. croceum Egletes californica Kellogg, syn of var. grandiflorum Eriophyllum grandiflorum (A.Gray) Greene, syn of var. grandiflorum Eriophyllum speciosum Greene, syn of var. grandiflorum Bahia cuneata Kellogg, syn of var. integrifolium Bahia gracilis Hook. & Arn., syn of var. integrifolium Bahia integrifolia (Hook.) DC., syn of var. integrifolium Bahia leucophylla D.C.Eaton 1871 not DC. 1836, syn of var. integrifolium Bahia multiflora (Nutt.) Nutt., syn of var. integrifolium Eriophyllum bolanderi Rydb., syn of var. integrifolium Eriophyllum chrysanthum Rydb., syn of var. integrifolium Eriophyllum cineraria Rydb., syn of var. integrifolium Eriophyllum cuneatum Rydb., syn of var. integrifolium Eriophyllum gracile (Hook. & Arn.) A.Gray, syn of var. integrifolium Eriophyllum integrifolium (Hook.) Greene, syn of var. integrifolium Eriophyllum lutescens Rydb., syn of var. integrifolium Eriophyllum monoense Rydb., syn of var. integrifolium Eriophyllum multiflorum (Nutt.) Rydb., syn of var. integrifolium Eriophyllum nevadense Gand., syn of var. integrifolium Eriophyllum trichocarpum Rydb., syn of var. integrifolium Eriophyllum watsonii A.Gray, syn of var. integrifolium Trichophyllum integrifolium Hook., syn of var. integrifolium Trichophyllum multiflorum Nutt., syn of var. integrifolium Eriophyllum lanceolatum Howell, syn of var. lanceolatum Eriophyllum rixfordii Eastw., syn of var. lanceolatum Eriophyllum leucophyllum (DC.) Howell, syn of var. leucophyllum Eriophyllum brachylepis Rydb., syn of var. obovatum Eriophyllum obovatum Greene, syn of var. obovatum

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

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 common 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.

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

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.

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

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.

It blooms from May to August,

Varieties

Varieties include:

• Eriophyllum lanatum var. achillioides (DC.) Jeps. — California, Nevada, Oregon.
• Eriophyllum lanatum var. arachnoideum (Fisch. & Avé-Lall.) Jeps. — Spiderweb sunflower; endemic to the California Coast Ranges from Del Norte County to Monterey County in California.
• Eriophyllum lanatum var. croceum (Greene) Jeps. — Sierra woolly sunflower; endemic to the Sierra Nevada in California.
• Eriophyllum lanatum var. grandiflorum (A.Gray) Jeps. — Large flowered woolly sunflower; northern California, Oregon.
• Eriophyllum lanatum var. hallii Constance — Fort Tejon woolly sunflower, Hall's woolly sunflower; endemic to the Tehachapi Mountains in Kern County, and Sierra Madre Mountains in Santa Barbara County, in southern California.
• Eriophyllum lanatum var. integrifolium (Hook.) Smiley — Oregon sunshine; California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming.
• Eriophyllum lanatum var. lanatum — Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington.
• Eriophyllum lanatum var. lanceolatum (Howell) Jeps. — endemic to the Klamath Mountains, in NW California and SW Oregon.
• Eriophyllum lanatum var. leucophyllum (DC.) W.R.Carter — British Columbia, Oregon, Washington.
• Eriophyllum lanatum var. obovatum (Greene) H.M.Hall — Southern Sierra woolly sunflower; endemic to the western Sierra Nevada and the San Bernardino Mountains in California.

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