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common woolly sunflower, Oregon sunshine, woolly eriophyllum, woolly sunflower, wooly sunflower

woolly sunflower

Habit Perennials or subshrubs, 10–100 cm (sometimes flowering first year). Annuals, perennials, subshrubs, or shrubs, 1–200 cm.
Stems

erect to decumbent (usually woolly).

erect or decumbent, usually branched (proximally, distally, or ± throughout).

Leaves

(proximal usually alternate): blades mostly lanceolate to oblanceolate, 1–8 cm, often 1–2(–3)-pinnately lobed, ultimate margins toothed, serrate, or entire, revolute or plane, faces hairy, often woolly (more densely abaxially, sometimes glabrate adaxially; distal leaves reduced in size and lobing).

mostly cauline; mostly alternate (proximal sometimes opposite); petiolate or sessile;

blades usually 1–2(–3)-pinnately lobed, ultimate margins toothed, serrate, or entire, faces usually densely to sparsely woolly (abaxial or both, adaxial sometimes glabrescent).

Peduncles

mostly 3–30 cm.

Involucres

campanulate to hemispheric, 6–15 mm diam.

campanulate to hemispheric, 3–12+ mm diam.

Receptacles

flat or convex to conic, smooth or pitted, glabrous, usually epaleate (with 1–6 hyaline paleae in E. ambiguum, obscurely setose in E. mohavense).

Ray florets

0 or 5–13(–15);

laminae golden yellow to yellow, 6–20 (× 2–7) mm.

0, or 4–13(–15), pistillate, fertile;

corollas yellow or white (sometimes with reddish veins in E. lanosum).

Disc florets

20–300;

corollas 2.5–5 mm (tubes usually glandular or glandular-hairy, glabrous in var. hallii).

(3–)10–300, bisexual, fertile;

corollas yellow, tubes shorter than or about equaling funnelform throats, lobes 5, deltate.

Phyllaries

5–13(–15), distinct or connate at bases (lanceolate to ovate, carinate or plane).

persistent, 4–13(–15) in 1+ series (± erect in fruit, distinct or basally connate, lanceolate to oblanceolate, herbaceous or indurate, slightly to deeply concave, usually carinate, margins sometimes scarious, abaxial faces densely to sparsely woolly).

Heads

borne singly or (2–5+) in corymbiform arrays.

radiate or discoid, borne singly or in loose to tight, corymbiform or compound-corymbiform arrays.

Cypselae

2–5 mm;

pappi usually of 6–12 ovate or cuneate to lanceolate or lance-linear (often unequal), erose or lacerate scales 0.3–2 mm, sometimes coroniform, rarely 0.

linear-clavate to prismatic, flattened or 3-angled in rays, 4(–5)-angled in discs, hairy or glabrous;

pappi 0, or persistent, of 6–12+ (distinct) erose to laciniate or aristate scales (in 1–2 similar or contrasting series), or ± coroniform.

x

= 8.

Eriophyllum lanatum

Eriophyllum

Distribution
from FNA
CA; ID; MT; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; BC; Mexico (probably extinct)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
w North America; nw Mexico
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 10 (10 in the flora).

Eriophyllum lanatum is a polyploid complex of intergrading regional facies treated here as varieties. Artificial hybridization studies show that strong barriers to interbreeding exist among the varieties at the diploid level (J. S. Mooring 2001). In nature, morphologically intermediate polyploid populations often occur in regions where the ranges of the varieties approach one another. Edaphic factors and light intensity also make identification more difficult by strongly influencing leaf morphology and sizes of structures. For example, cultivated individuals of var. achillioides may have laciniately toothed rather than pinnatifid leaves. Rarely, plants of different varieties maintain their identity while growing side by side. In some instances, one is diploid and the other tetraploid; in others both are diploid. Varieties arachnoideum, croceum, grandiflorum, and obovatum apparently form natural hybrids with E. confertiflorum var. confertiflorum; past hybridizations may have resulted in the origin of E. latilobum and E. jepsonii (L. Constance 1937; P. A. Munz 1959; Mooring 1994) and E. confertiflorum var. tanacetiflorum (Mooring 1994).

Our treatment of Eriophyllum lanatum closely follows that of L. Constance (1937), which was done without benefit of cytogeographic studies. The key is to modal populations of the varieties, usually based on living plants.

Some varieties have been introduced into cultivation as ornamentals.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Species 13 (13 in the flora).

Eriophyllum encompasses taxa that occur in seashore, chaparral, grassland, desert, forest, and alpine communities. Their disparateness encouraged taxonomic multiplication. Between 1890 and 1937, about 157 designations under the genus existed (L. Constance 1937). Constance reduced that taxonomic thicket to six annual and five perennial species; the perennial species E. lanatum consisted of ten varieties. Base diploid chromosome numbers for Eriophyllum (in the sense of Constance) species are x = 4, 5, and 7 for the annuals, and x = 8, 15, and 19 for the perennials (S. Carlquist 1956; J. S. Mooring 1997, 2001, 2002). Possibly, x = 15 and x = 19 represent paleopolyploidy. Only E. mohavense remains uncounted. B. G. Baldwin (1999) linked Mooring’s (1997) report of n = 19 in E. nevinii to chromosomal, morphologic, and rDNA evidence, and erected the genus Constancea on that species. Eriophyllum (in the sense of Constance) seems most closely related to the annuals Pseudobahia (x = 3, 4, 8) and Syntrichopappus (x = 6, 7). Eriophyllum (in the sense of Baldwin), Pseudobahia, and Syntrichopappus constitute a clade, and nomenclatural changes are necessary for a monophyletic classification (Baldwin and B. L. Wessa 2000; Baldwin et al. 2002). Mooring (1997) hypothesized a descending dysploidy phylogeny in Eriophyllum (in the sense of Constance) from E. nevinii. Baldwin et al. (2002, p. 174) stated that E. nevinii “is an evolutionary outlier (although probably not ancestral) to” Eriophyllum in the sense of Constance.

Natural intertaxon hybrids have been reported for the perennial species (L. Constance 1937; J. S. Mooring 1994) but not for the annuals. Experimental hybridizations have produced sterile hybrids between the annual E. congdonii and the perennial E. lanatum. Experimental crosses among seven of the annual species produced fertile hybrids between two morphologically similar species; the other combinations either failed or produced sterile hybrids (Mooring 2002).

D. P. Tibor (2001) cited nine taxa of Eriophyllum as rare or endangered: the perennials E. confertiflorum var. tanacetiflorum, E. jepsonii, E. latilobum, E. (Constancea) nevinii, and E. lanatum vars. hallii and obovatum, and the annuals E. congdonii, E. mohavense, and E. nubigenum.

Here, accounts of the annuals are by D. E. Johnson, the perennials by J. S. Mooring.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Ray florets 8–9 (disc corolla tubes glabrous; s California)
var. hallii
1. Ray florets usually (5–)8–15, rarely 0 (disc corolla tubes glandular or glandular-hairy)
→ 2
2. Pappi to 0.2 mm, sometimes coroniform, rarely 0
→ 3
2. Pappi (0.3–)0.5–2 mm
→ 4
3. Proximal leaves pinnately lobed, lobes 3–5, abaxial faces loosely cobwebby-woolly; California, Coast Ranges
var. arachnoideum
3. Proximal leaves coarsely serrate or shallowly lobed distally, abaxial faces densely silky-woolly; California, Sierra Nevada
var. croceum
4. Proximal leaves 1–2(–3)-pinnately lobed
→ 5
4. Proximal leaves laciniately toothed, serrate, or entire
→ 8
5. Proximal leaves 1-pinnately lobed; peduncles mostly 5–30 cm
→ 6
5. Proximal leaves 1–2(–3)-pinnately lobed (sinuses almost to midribs); peduncles mostly 3–15 cm
→ 7
6. Proximal leaves usually lobed (beginning in proximal 1/2 of leaf); peduncles mostly 10–30 cm; California, sw Oregon
var. grandiflorum
6. Proximal leaves usually lobed (beginning in distal 1/2 of leaf); peduncles mostly 5–15(–20) cm; Idaho, Montana, ne Oregon, e Washington
var. lanatum
7. Perennials (often clumped); proximal leaves usually mostly opposite, 1(–2)-pinnately lobed, lobes ± linear (with 0–2 teeth, ultimate margins not crispate), abaxial faces usually densely gray-woolly; heads 2–5 per array or borne singly; ray laminae 8–20 mm; British Columbia, sw Oregon, Washington
var. leucophyllum
7. Perennials (sometimes flowering first year); proximal leaves usually mostly alternate, 1–2(–3)-pinnately lobed, lobes usually ± triangular (with 0–4 teeth, ultimate margins often crispate), abaxial faces woolly; heads usually 3–8 per array; ray laminae usually 6–9(–16) mm; California, Nevada, s Oregon
var. achilleoides
8. Leaves: margins revolute, abaxial faces woolly, adaxial tufted-woolly or glabrate
→ 9
8. Leaves: margins usually plane, sometimes slightly revolute in var. integrifolium, abaxial and adaxial faces woolly
→ 10
9. Peduncles mostly 10–30 cm; cypselae (2.4–)2.5–3.5(–4) mm; California, sw Oregon
var. grandiflorum
9. Peduncles mostly 5–15(–20) cm; cypselae (3.4–)3.5–5 mm; Idaho, Montana, ne Oregon, e Washington
var. lanatum
10. Involucres 6–10 mm diam.; ray florets (5–)8(–10)
var. integrifolium
10. Involucres 10–15 mm diam.; ray florets 10–13(–15)
→ 11
11. Involucres 10–12 mm diam.; ray laminae 6–7 mm; s California
var. obovatum
11. Involucres 12–15 mm diam.; ray laminae 7–10(–15) mm; n California,s Oregon
var. lanceolatum
1. Perennials (sometimes flowering in first year), subshrubs, or shrubs, (10–)20–150 cm
→ 2
1. Annuals, 1–15(–30) cm
→ 6
2. Perennials or subshrubs; heads borne singly or 2–5(–10) per array; peduncles (2–)3–30 cm; ray laminae 6–20 mm
→ 3
2. Subshrubs or shrubs; heads 2–30+, or 40–80+, per array; peduncles 0–10(–14) cm; ray laminae 2–10 mm
→ 4
3. Peduncles 3–30 cm; involucres 6–15 mm diam.; ray florets 0, or 5–13(–15), lami-nae 6–20 mm; disc florets 20–300; British Columbia, w United States
E. lanatum
3. Peduncles 2–7 cm; involucres 5–6(–7) mm diam.; ray florets (6–)8–10(–13), lami-nae 6–10 mm; disc florets 40–75; California
E. latilobum
4. Subshrubs, 30–150 cm; phyllaries 8–11; ray florets 0, or 6–9, laminae 3–5 mm; coastal dunes and bluffs
E. staechadifolium
4. Shrubs, 20–100 cm; phyllaries 4–8; ray florets 0, or 4–8, laminae 2–10 mm; mostly not coastal
→ 5
5. Heads 2–4 per array; peduncles mostly 5–10(–14) cm; ray florets 6–8, laminae 6–10 mm; California (Inner Coast Ranges)
E. jepsonii
5. Heads (3–)4–7(–10) or 10–30+ per array; peduncles mostly 0–2.5(–9) cm; ray florets 0 or 4–6(–8), laminae 2–5 mm; California, Mexico
E. confertiflorum
6. Peduncles ± 0.1 cm
→ 7
6. Peduncles 1–10 cm
→ 9
7. Ray florets 5–7
E. multicaule
7. Ray florets 0
→ 8
8. Leaf margins weakly, if at all, revolute, apices acute; phyllaries 3–4
E. mohavense
8. Leaf margins strongly revolute, apices ± rounded; phyllaries 6–8
E. pringlei
9. Ray laminae cream or yellow, or white with red veins (lobes of disc corollas glandular; anther appendages subulate)
→ 10
9. Ray laminae yellow (lobes of disc corollas not glandular; anther appendages deltate)
→ 11
10. Ray laminae white with red veins; cypselae 2.5–4.5 mm; pappi of 5 subulate scales 1.5–2.5 mm plus 4 oblong scales ± 0.5 mm
E. lanosum
10. Ray laminae usually cream or yellow, sometimes white with red veins; cypselae ± 2 mm; pappi usually of 6–10 ± oblong scales 0.4–0.8 mm, rarely 0
E. wallacei
11. Anther appendages not glandular; pappi 0, or of 6–10 scales 0.1–0.5 mm
E. ambiguum
11. Anther appendages glandular; pappi of 8–10 lanceolate to spatulate (± unequal) scales 0.5–1.5 mm, or of 3–5 ± spatulate scales 0.5–1 mm plus 3–5 lanceolate scales 1.5–2 mm.
→ 12
12. Stems ascending; ray laminae ± 1 mm (inconspicuous); 1800–2500 m
E. nubigenum
12. Stems ± spreading; ray laminae 3–5 mm; 500–1900 m
E. congdonii
Source FNA vol. 21, p. 357. FNA vol. 21, p. 353. Authors: Dale E. Johnson, John S. Mooring.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Heliantheae > subtribe Baeriinae > Eriophyllum Asteraceae > tribe Heliantheae > subtribe Baeriinae
Sibling taxa
E. ambiguum, E. confertiflorum, E. congdonii, E. jepsonii, E. lanosum, E. latilobum, E. mohavense, E. multicaule, E. nubigenum, E. pringlei, E. staechadifolium, E. wallacei
Subordinate taxa
E. lanatum var. achilleoides, E. lanatum var. arachnoideum, E. lanatum var. croceum, E. lanatum var. grandiflorum, E. lanatum var. hallii, E. lanatum var. integrifolium, E. lanatum var. lanatum, E. lanatum var. lanceolatum, E. lanatum var. leucophyllum, E. lanatum var. obovatum
E. ambiguum, E. confertiflorum, E. congdonii, E. jepsonii, E. lanatum, E. lanosum, E. latilobum, E. mohavense, E. multicaule, E. nubigenum, E. pringlei, E. staechadifolium, E. wallacei
Synonyms Actinella lanata
Name authority (Pursh) J. Forbes: Hort. Woburn., 183. (1833) Lagasca: Gen. Sp. Pl., 28. (1816)
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