Woolly Daisy

The woolly daisy, also known as Wallace's woolly daisy and woolly easterbonnets (Eriophyllum wallacei)

 is a small, squat member of the daisy family which grows in clumps on short, erect stems.

The plant is covered in white cotton candy-like wool.

The flowers, which bloom from March to May, are yellow, but can also be a cream-white.

It is found in California east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, in the San Gabriel, San Bernardino and Peninsular Mounts and in the Southern California deserts. It can also be found up to southwestern Utah, northwestern Arizona and into northern Baja. I photographed these near Carey's Castle in Joshua Tree National Park. They are so small that they can easily be missed. It appears that these were just barely coming up and I assume the plant gets larger later in the season. A number of my photos could not be used because they are out of focus, a problem when trying to photograph small subjects using a small, digital camera.