Asteraceae (Eriophyllum)
Eriophyllum (lanatum)
Asteraceae
Sunflower
Eriophyllum
lanatum
(Pursh) Forbes
Oregon sunshine
ERLA6
south of Moscow, ID
Dry, open, often rocky places in grasslands and dry forest from southern British Columbia to California and east to Montana, Wyoming, and Utah.
not invasive
plants
seed
Container (plug)
10 cu. in.
4 Months
Tight root plug in container.
Fruit is an achene which ripens in mid to late July. Seed is dark grayish brown to nearly black in color. The pappus is reduced to short scales or is lacking entirely and the achene is not windborne. Seed will hold in the inflorescence longer than the seed of many other members of Asteraceae, but will shatter within a week or so of ripening. Small amounts are collected by hand and stored in paper bags or envelopes at room temperature until cleaned.
818,000 seeds/lb (Hassell et al 1996).
Small amounts are rubbed to free the seed, then cleaned with an air column separator. Larger amounts can probably be threshed with a hammermill, then cleaned with air screen equipment. Clean seed is stored in controlled conditions at 40 degrees Fahrenheit and 40% relative humidity.
Seed stored at room temperature remains viable after 8 years (Mooring 1975) but germination decreases sharply after 2 years (Mooring 2001). Seed collected in Washington germinated at 80% in the dark at 20 o C and 84% in the dark at alternating temperatures of 20/30 o C (Maguire & Overland 1959). Extended cold, moist stratification is needed. Unpublished data from trials conducted at the Pullman Plant Materials Center revealed that no germination occurred without stratification. 45 days of cold, moist stratification resulted in 10% germination. 90 days of cold, moist stratification resulted in 75% germination. Some seed germinated while in stratification, indicating germination will occur at low temperatures. Containers sown in November and left outside under cool, fluctuating spring temperatures achieved82% germination. Seedlings which germinated in the greenhouse thrived in the constant warmth, so it is likely the longer stratification time and not the cool, fluctuating temperature was the factor in the increased germination. Seed stored in controlled conditions at 5 o C and 40% relative humidity for 1 year and then sown without pretreatment failed to emerge, indicating after-ripening is not a factor in germination.
In October or November seed is sown in 10 cu. in. Ray Leach Super cell conetainers filled with Sunshine #4 and covered lightly. A thin layer of coarse grit is applied to the top of the planting soil to prevent seeds from floating during watering. Conetainers are watered deeply and placed outside. Conetainers are moved to the greenhouse in January. Alternately, seed can be moist stratified in a refrigerator at 35-40 degrees F for 90 or more days before sowing in the greenhouse. Some seed will germinate during stratification.
Medium is kept moist until germination occurs. Emergence usually begins in 3 days and is complete in 13 days.
2 weeks
Plants are watered deeply every other day and fertilized once per week with a complete, water soluble fertilizer containing micro-nutrients. Plants may require water every day during the final part of the active growth period.
3 months
Plants are moved to the cold frame in late March or early April, depending on weather conditions. They are watered every other day if the weather is cool, and every day during hot, dry spells.
2-4 weeks
Eriophyllum lanatum is almost entirely outcrossed (Mooring 1975, 2001).
Bees, beetles, syrphid flies, butterflies and moths frequent the flowers (Mooring 2001).
It is a polyploid complex for which a number of subspecies and/or varieties have been proposed.
Craighead, John J., Frank C. Craighead, and Ray J. Davis. 1963. A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers. Houghton Mifflin Co. Boston, MA. 277 pp.
Hassell, Wendell, W. Rocky Beavers, Steve Ouellette, and Thomas Mitchell. 1996. Seeding Rate Statistics for Native and Introduced Species. USDI National Park Service and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. 25 pp.
Hitchcock, C. Leo, and Arthur Cronquist. 1973. Flora of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press. Seattle, WA. 730 pp.
Larrison, Earl J., Grace W. Patrick, William H. Baker, and James A. Yaich. 1974. Washington Wildflowers. The Seattle Audubon Society. Seattle, WA. 376 pp.
Lyons, C.P. 1997. Wildflowers of Washington. Lone Pine Publishing, Renton, WA. 192 pp.
Maguire, James D. and Alvin Overland. 1959. Laboratory Germination of Seeds of Weedy and Native Plants. Washington State Agricultural Experiment Station Circular 349, Pullman, WA. 15 p.
Mooring, John S. 1975. A Cytogeographic Study of Eriophyllum lanatum (Compositae, Helenieae). American Journal of Botany 62:1027-1037.
Mooring, John S. 2001. Barriers to Interbreeding in the Eriophyllum lanatum (Asteraceae, Helenieae) Species Complex. American Journal of Botany 88:285-312.
Piper, C.V., and R.K. Beattie. 1914. The Flora of Southeastern Washington and Adjacent Idaho. Lancaster, PA. Press of the New Era Printing Company. 296 p.
Rickett, Harold W. 1973. Wildflowers of the United States: The Central Mountains and Plains. Vol. 6. (3 parts). McGraw Hill, New York.
St. John, Harold. 1963. Flora of Southeastern Washington and of Adjacent Idaho. 3rd edition. Outdoor Pictures. Escondido, CA. 583 pp.
USDA NRCS. 2007. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 13 February 2007). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.
Skinner, David M,. 2007. Propagation protocol for production of Container (plug) Eriophyllum lanatum (Pursh) Forbes plants 10 cu. in.; USDA NRCS - Pullman Plant Materials Center Pullman, Washington. In: Native Plant Network. URL: https://NativePlantNetwork.org (accessed 2024/05/07). US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Center for Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetic Resources.
