Duration: Perennial

Nativity: Native

Lifeform: Forb/Herb

General: Perennial herb, 30-60 cm tall, from a branched woody caudex; stems erect, glabrous above the leaves, branching in the inflorescence.

Leaves: In basal tufts, on petioles 5-20 mm long; blades narrowly elliptic to oblanceolate, 1-5 cm long and 2-10 mm wide, densely white- or silvery-tomentose.

Flowers: Yellow, arranged in small clusters of a few flowers held together by a cup-shaped structure called an involucre; involucres arranged in open flat-topped inflorescences, 10-40 cm high, at the tops of the leafless stems; each individual flower is 2-3 mm long, with 6 petal-like tepals, these yellow on the inside and covered with short white hairs on the outside.

Fruits: Achenes 2-3 mm high, brown and hairless or nearly so.

Ecology: Found on dry plains and low hills, especially on sandy to clay-y flats or outcrops of limestone or gypsum, from 4,500-6,500 ft (1372-1981 m); flowers June-September.

Distribution: c, s NM and w TX.

Notes: This relatively rare perennial Eriogonum is distinguished by its stout, branching woody base (caudex); clusters of silvery-hairy oblong leaves which emerge directly from the base; erect leafless stems which are hairless and only branch near the top, forming an open, diffuse flat-topped inflorescence; and the small clusters of yellow 6-petaled flowers at the branch tips. The petals (called "tepals" in this genus) are yellow and covered with short white hairs on the outward-facing surface.

Ethnobotany: Unknown, but other species in the genus have uses.

Etymology: Eriogonum is from the Greek erion, wool, and gony, knee, alluding to the hairy nodes of the first species described, E. tomentosum; havardii is named for Valery Havard (1846-1927), a French-born physician, botanist, and officer in the US Army who served on the western frontier.

Synonyms: Eriogonum leucophyllum, Eriogonum harvardii

Editor: AHazelton 2017