[The Genus Eriastrum East of the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington] - [The Phlox Family East of the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington]

Few-flowered Eriastrum

Eriastrum signatum

Synonyms: Eriastrum sparsiflorum, Eriastrum sparsiflorum ssp. sparsiflorum, Eriastrum sparsiflorum var. sparsiflorum

Few-flowered eriastrum as seen at Fort Rock State Park, Lake County, Oregon.....May 18, 2016.

Characteristics:

Few-flowered eriastrum is a small upright annual to 30 cm tall. It may be freely-branched when fully developed.

The leaves are primarily on the stem, with the leaves being as long as 1 to 3 cm, either linear and entire as in variety sparsiflorum, or with 1 to 3 pairs of lateral segments near or below the middle of the leaf in variety wilcoxii.

The infloresence consists of small, few-flowered heads. The calyx of each flower is unequally lobed, and the petals blue to white, about 7 to 13 mm long, the lobes 2 to 5 mm long.

Habitat:

Few-flowered eriastrum inhabits dry, open, often sandy places in the plains and foothills.

Range:

Eriastrum sparsiflorum is found east of the Cascade Mts. from central Washington south through eastern Oregon to southern California, and eastward to central Idaho and western Utah.

Inflorescence of few-flowered eriastrum as seen at Fort Rock State Park, Lake County, Oregon.....May 18, 2016.

Eriastrum sparsiflorum from rangeland near Blue Sky, Hart Mt. National Antelope Refuge.....July 5, 1996

Paul Slichter