Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Eriastrum densifolium is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common name giant woollystar. This wildflower is native to California and Baja California where it grows in open areas such as sand dunes and dry washes. It grows on an erect stem with slightly hairy to densely woolly foliage, often giving the plant a dark gray-green color. The leaves are narrow and spike-shaped with pointed lobes. The top of each stem is occupied by a bunched flower cluster full of woolly leaflike leafs and funnel-shaped, flat-faced flowers. The flowers are each 1 to 3 centimeters long with a face up to three or four centimeters wide. The lobes are white to bright, striking blue, sometimes with longitudinal pinstripes. The stamens protrude from the throat.

Plant type

Perennial herb

Calscape icon
Color

Purple, Lavender

Flowering season

Spring, Summer, Fall

Sun

Full Sun

Water

Extremely Low, Very Low

Soil drainage

Fast

Propagation

For propagating by seed: No treatment.

Site type

Dunes, dry riverbeds, open slopes

Plant communities

Chaparral, Coastal Sage Scrub, Coastal Strand, Joshua Tree Woodland, Pinyon-Juniper Woodland, Red Fir Forest, Yellow Pine Forest

Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 1 likely

Confirmed Likely

Schinia aurantiaca