Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Eriodictyon tomentosum is a species of flowering plant in the waterleaf family known by the common name woolly yerba santa. This shrub is endemic to California, where it grows on the chaparral slopes of the central coast ranges. It reaches maximum heights anywhere from one to three meters. Its twigs and foliage are covered in a dense coat of white woolly hairs, giving the bush a silvery look. The leaves are oval and up to ten centimeters long and five wide, and they may have small teeth along the edges. The bush flowers in dense fuzzy bunches of very light lavender hairy blossoms, each a few millimeters long. The fruit is a tiny capsule less than three millimeters wide, containing about 10 minute seeds.

Plant type

Shrub

Size

3 - 10 ft Tall

Calscape icon
Color

Lavender

Special uses

Hedge

Sun

Full Sun, Partial Shade

Water

Low, Very Low

Ease of care

Moderate

Sunset Zones

7*, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

Site type

Slopes, ridges, ravines, disturbed places,

Plant communities

Chaparral, Foothill Woodland

Hummingbirds
Bees
Butterflies

Pollinators supported

10 confirmed and 186 likely

  • Likely

  • Confirmed

Brown Elfin

Callophrys augustinus

Gabb's Checkerspot

Chlosyne gabbii

Propertius Duskywing

Erynnis propertius

Mournful Duskywing

Erynnis tristis

See all

Plums & Prunes

Prunus

Blueberries

Vaccinium

Ginger Root

Zingiber officinale

Parsnips

Pastinaca sativa