''Eriastrum virgatum'' is a species of flowering plant in the
phlox family known by the common name wand woollystar. It is
endemic to
California, where it is known the coastline and coastal mountain ranges of
Monterey and
San Benito Counties. It grows in
chaparral
Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...
and coastal and inland scrub habitat. It is an annual herb producing a thin, usually woolly stem up to about 40 centimeters tall. The leaves are narrow and thick, up to 5 centimeters long, and sometimes divided into two narrow lobes. The
inflorescence is a woolly cluster of narrow, leaflike
bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...
s laced with webby fibers. The flowers have yellow throats and bright blue corollas with lobes up to a centimeter long.
External links
Jepson Manual TreatmentPhoto gallery
virgatum
Endemic flora of California
Flora without expected TNC conservation status
{{Polemoniaceae-stub