(Eriastrum tracyi)
| Family |
Polemoniaceae (Phloxes) |
| Life History |
Annual |
| Range |
Colusa, Fresno, Glenn, Kern, Lake, Lassen, Monterey, Santa Clara, Shasta, Siskiyou, Stanislaus, Tehama, Trinity, and Tulare Counties |
| CDFW Region |
Northern, North Central, Bay Delta, and Central Regions |
| CA Listing |
Rare |
| US Listing |
None |
Background
Tracy's eriastrum (Eriastrum tracyi) was listed in 1982 as a California rare plant species, which means that killing or possessing this plant is prohibited by the Native Plant Protection Act (NPPA). Tracy's eriastrum is a slender and woolly annual forb in the phlox family (Polemoniaceae). The plant is typically 10 to 25 cm (3.9 to 9.8 in) tall with one to several erect stems, each with one to several branches, and is noted for having prickly leaves. The flower heads are clustered at the tips of the stems and petals are white to pale lavender. Tracy's eriastrum typically blooms from May through July. This species can be distinguished from other species in the phlox family by having deeply lobed leaves, a densely woolly calyx, stamens exerted up to 1.3 mm (0.051 in) past the sinuses (indentation between the petal lobes), and generally producing one seed per flower.
Distribution
Tracy's eriastrum is found only in California, in foothills and mountains surrounding the Central Valley, from 315 to 1,780 meters (1,035 to 5,840 feet) in elevation. It occurs in open, dry, and gravelly flats and outcrops (shale) within forest, woodland, and chaparral communities. It is commonly associated with chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum), California yerba santa (Eriodictyon californicum), and red brome (Bromus rubens). The California Natural Diversity Database (CNDDB) lists 119 occurrences, all thought to be extant. Most occurrences are on private or Bureau of Land Management (BLM) property, and a few are on land owned by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans).
The California Rare Plant Rank for this species is 3.2 (plants needing review and moderately threatened). Known occurrences are somewhat geographically fractured, occurring in the Klamath Ranges, the Inner North Coast Ranges, the southern Cascade Range, the western Sierra Nevada Foothills, and the San Francisco Bay Area. While Tracy's eriastrum is treated as a separate species from Brandegee's eriastrum (Eriastrum brandegeeae) in the CNDDB, as of 2016, Sarah De Groot has treated Brandegee's eriastrum as a part of Tracy's eriastrum and considers Tracy's eriastrum as a single highly variable species or species complex. This is reflected in the Jepson eFlora. For now, the CNDDB lists the two as distinct species but this may change in the future.
Conservation
Threats to Tracy's eriastrum include damage by off-road vehicles, competition from invasive species, cattle grazing, development, and road construction and maintenance. Several populations have been threatened by wind and energy development. Up-to-date information is lacking for several occurrences, and field surveys are needed. There are no active management programs or protection plans for Tracy's eriastrum, although the species is on the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) sensitive species list, which affords it conservation status on USFS lands. More studies are needed to evaluate this species' population trend.
CDFW may issue permits for Tracy's eriastrum pursuant to the NPPA, and we invite you to learn more about the California laws protecting Tracy's eriastrum and other California native plants. Populations of Tracy's eriastrum occur in CDFW's Northern, North Central, Bay Delta, and Central Regions.
References
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife. 2025. California Natural Diversity Database.
- Cowell, A. 2022. Plant Species Evaluation Form, Eriastrum tracyi H. Mason, Tracy's Eriastrum. California Native Plant Society, 64 pp.
- De Groot, S. 2016. Tomus nominum eriastri: The nomenclature and taxonomy of Eriastrum (Polemoniaceae: Loeselieae). Aliso 34: 25-152.
- De Groot, S. 2023. Eriastrum tracyi, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, Revision 12. Accessed on March 02, 2026.
- Gowen, D. 2008. New taxa following a reassessment of Eriastrum spariflorum (Polemoniaceae). Madroño 55:82-87.
- US Forest Service. 2013. Regional Forester's 2013 Sensitive Plant Species List. United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service.
- US Forest Service. 2026. Threatened, Endangered & Sensitive Species (website).
Updated 03/02/2026