Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Eriodictyon traskiae is a species of flowering plant in the waterleaf family known by the common names Pacific yerba santa and Trask's yerba santa. This shrub is endemic to California, where it grows on the chaparral slopes of the central Coast Ranges and Transverse Ranges. It approaches a maximum height of two meters. Its twigs and foliage are covered in a dense coat of white woolly hairs, giving the bush a gray-green look. The leaves are oval and anywhere from 3 to 14 centimeters long and 1 to 7 wide. They are woolly and crinkled and the edges roll under, and they may have small teeth. The bush flowers in dense fuzzy bunches of white to brownish-purple hairy blossoms, each under a centimeter wide. The fruit is a tiny capsule up to three millimeters wide containing two to four minute seeds.

Plant type

Shrub

Size

4 - 7 ft Tall

Calscape icon
Color

White, Purple, Brown

Special uses

Hedge

Sun

Full Sun

Water

Very Low

Ease of care

Moderate

Propagation

For propagating by seed: Fire treatment gives some germination. Oven heat of 194°F for 5 mins. might improve germination.

Sunset Zones

7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22*, 23*, 24*

Site type

Slopes

Plant communities

Chaparral

Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 2 likely

Confirmed Likely

Orange Tortrix Moth

Argyrotaenia franciscana

Ethmia arctostaphylella