How to Grow and Care for Woollystars

Desert woollystar (Eriastrum eremicum) is a low-growing annual desert wildflower found in North America's Sonoran Desert. In some places it becomes so abundant that it appears to cover the ground in a blue carpet when the flowers bloom.

This is an annual herb producing a thin, usually woolly stem up to about 20 centimeters long, growing erect or spreading outward. The leaves are divided into 2 to 4 narrow, threadlike linear lobes. The inflorescence is a woolly cluster of narrow, leaflike bracts laced with webby fibers. The small flowers are funnel-shaped, with yellowish throats and white to pale blue corollas.

Tehachapi woollystar is a hardy perennial known for its numerous violet-blue flowers that cluster at the top of slender, branching stems. Thriving mainly in arid, well-drained soils, tehachapi woollystar utilizes its narrow, pointed leaves to minimize water loss, making it well-adapted to its native dry habitats. This plant's blooming season adds vibrant colors to the otherwise subdued palette of its surroundings.

Harwood's woollystar is recognized by its slender form and woolly texture, adorned with clusters of pale to deep blue flowers that bloom in spring. Typically found in arid, sandy habitats, this plant's narrow leaves and dense hairs are seemingly tailored to conserve water, reflecting its adaptation to harsh, dry environments. Harwood's woollystar's delicate beauty belies its tenacity in surviving challenging conditions.

It grows on an erect stem with slightly hairy to densely woolly foliage, often giving the plant a dark gray-green color. The leaves are narrow and spike-shaped with pointed lobes. The top of each stem is occupied by a bunched inflorescence full of woolly leaflike bracts and funnel-shaped, flat-faced flowers.