Golden Yarrow (Oregon Sunshine, Common Woolly Sunflower)
Eriophyllum lanatum
June 6, 1806, at Camp Chopunnish, Idaho County, Idaho.
A grayish, woolly, leafy plant with several branched stems ending in short leafless stalks and golden-yellow flower heads. Flower heads 1.5-2.5 in (3.8-6.3 cm) wide. Height: 4-24 in (10-60 cm).
Dry thickets and dry open places.
British Columbia to southern California and western Nevada; east to northeastern Oregon and western Montana.
This common and variable species often colors banks along roads in drier portions of the West with a blaze of yellow. The plant's white hairs, by reflecting heat and reducing air movement across the leaf's surface, conserve water.
