[Members of the Sunflower Family with Button-like Flower Heads]
Hoary False Yarrow

Chaenactis douglasii

The photo above shows a close-up of the flower head of hoary flase yarrow as seen from steep ash slopes above the John Day River along Oregon Highway 19 at milepost 80 in central Oregon............May 28, 2007.
The photo at right shows the seed head of the hoary false yarrow.
Characteristics:

Hoary false yarrow is an upright wildflower with cottony, lacy pinnate leaves. The one to several stems are erect, relatively straight, and often unbranched. Plants arise 10-60 cm in height. The leaves are bipinnate to pinnately dissected (See photo below). The leaf segments are thick and curled, so the leaves do not look flat.

The inflorescence is a flat-topped corymb. There are several to many white or pink-tinged disk flowers which look like pincushions. Individual plants grow up to 1.5 feet tall. Flowers from May into September.

Varieties of Hoary False Yarrow:

var. douglasii - Found across the range of the species although largely replaced by variety glandulosa in the Blue Mts.

var. glandulosa - Found across the Blue Mts. of northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington.

Habitat:

Hoary false yarrow may be found on dry, rocky or sandy soils from the lowlands to timberline in the mountains.

Range:

Hoary false yarrow may be found from southern British Columbia to southern California, east of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada ranges, east to Colorado and northern Arizona.

The photo above shows a close-up of the involucral bracts of hoary flase yarrow as seen from steep ash slopes above the John Day River along Oregon Highway 19 at milepost 80 in central Oregon............May 28, 2007. Note how densely hairy the bracts are.

The photo above shows the attractive rosette of basal leaves of hoary false yarrow as seen in the Columbia Hills................July 7, 2006.

The photo above shows hoary flase yarrow as seen from steep, ash slopes above the John Day River along Oregon Highway 19 at milepost 80 in central Oregon............May 28, 2007.
Paul Slichter