Great Basin Woollystar
Eriastrum sapphirinum
Color: Blue, pink, yellow or cream
Common name: Great Basin Woollystar
Latin name: Eriastrum sparsiflorum
Family: POLEMONIACEAE
Height: 2-12 inches
Description: Narrow funnel-shaped flower with 4-6 mm tube and yellow throat.
Leaf: 5–35 mm, thread-like, woolly, smooth or 2-lobed near base.
Range: s High Sierra Nevada, Tehachapi Mountain Area, East of Sierra Nevada, Desert Mountains
Habitat: Desert slopes
Elevation: < 2400 m.
Flowering time: Jun–Jul
Notes: Eriastrum sparsiflorum, a dicot, is an annual herb that is native to California and is also found outside of California, but is confined to western North America. Distribution outside California: Oregon, Nevada, Baja California. Photographed in the far eastern Mojave Desert near Lanfair Valley on April 30, 2005 with a Canon EOS 10D and 100mm macro lens.
We have an online wildflower field guide that is designed to help you identify desert wildflowers by color, scientific name, region and common name. The pictures are sized to work on the iPod, iPhone, iPad and similar devices. With your iPod or phone you will easily be able to identify wildflowers while in the desert. Links for downloads are on the bottom of the Wildflower Field Guide page.
Photo tips: Most digital point-and-shoot cameras have a macro function - usually symbolized by the icon of a little flower. When you turn on that function, you allow your camera to get closer to the subject, looking into a flower for example. Or getting up close and personal with a bug. More on desert photography.
Mojave Desert Wildflowers - This book is the standard by which all other wildflower books are measured. The author, Jon Mark Stewart, has combined super photography with concise information. This book has an entire color page for each wildflower covered, with a discussion of the wildflower. 210 pages with 200 color photos. More...
What's Blooming Now - Check the Wildflower Reports
Related DesertUSA Pages
- How to Turn Your Smartphone into a Survival Tool
- 26 Tips for Surviving in the Desert
- Death by GPS
- 7 Smartphone Apps to Improve Your Camping Experience
- Maps Parks and More
- Desert Survival Skills
- How to Keep Ice Cold in the Desert
- Desert Rocks, Minerals & Geology Index
- Preparing an Emergency Survival Kit
- Get the Best Hotel and Motel Rates
Share this page on Facebook:
The Desert Environment
The North American Deserts
Desert Geological Terms