Eriastrum diffusum (A. Gray) Mason 
Family: Polemoniaceae
miniature woollystar,  more
[Eriastrum diffusum ssp. jonesii Mason]
Eriastrum diffusum image
Max Licher  
 
PLANT: Annual 3-35 cm tall, erect and simple to diffusely branching. LEAVES: subglabrous to sparsely woolly, entire or with 1-2 pairs of lobes near the base of the rachis, 1-3 cm long. CALYX: 6-7 mm long; corolla actinomorphic, narrowly funnelform to slightly zygomorphic, the throat white to yellow, the lobes white to pale blue or bluish lavender, the tube and throat 4-7 mm long, slightly longer than the calyx tube, the lobes 3-5 mm long; stamens inserted on the throat near the sinuses, less than the length of the corolla lobes; filaments slightly unequal in length; pistil 5-7 mm long; style included in the tube or throat. CAPSULE: 2-4 mm long. NOTES: Open sites, desert shrublands, sagebrush, pinyon-juniper woodland: Cochise, Gila, Graham, La Paz, Maricopa, Mohave, Pima, Pinal, Santa Cruz, Yavapai, Yuma cos; 700-5600 ft; Feb-Jun. s CA to w CO, s to n Mex. This species includes plants assigned to E. diffusum subsp. jonesii H. L. Mason, with corollas 10-12 mm long and anthers 0.7-1 mm long. The typical, more common subsp. diffusum usually has shorter corollas and anthers less than 0.8 mm long. These differences do not appear correlated with geographical or ecological distribution. REFERENCES: Dieter H. Wilken and J. Mark Porter, 2005, Vascular Plants of Arizona: Polemoniaceae. CANOTIA 1: 1-37.
Eriastrum diffusum image
Max Licher  
Eriastrum diffusum image
Anthony Mendoza  
Eriastrum diffusum image
Liz Makings  
Eriastrum diffusum image
Anthony Mendoza  
Eriastrum diffusum dot map
More Photos       Web Links       View Parent Taxon       Close window