Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in central Washington; central Washington to Oregon, east to Idaho.
Habitat: Sagebrush deserts, dry ponderosa pine forest openings, and open ridges in lower mountains.
Flowers: April-June
Origin: Native
Growth Duration: Perennial
Conservation Status: Not of concern
Pollination: Bumblebees, bees, flies, butterflies, beetles, wasps
Intricately branched, low and spreading to erect shrub 5-15 cm. tall, somewhat gray-woolly to silky throughout.
Leaves many, linear to linear-spatulate, 3-10 mm. long, usually revolute, somewhat wooly beneath and silky above.
Flowering stems 3-8 cm. tall, always with a whorl of leaves about mid-length; involucres single and terminal, top-shaped, 3-5 mm. long, the teeth 6-8, erect, triangular, 1 mm. long; perianth with a stipitate base 0.5-1 mm. long, densely hairy, the 6 segments obovate, yellow or white to rose-red, 4-6 mm. long; plants dioecious, the staminate flowers with 9 stamens, the filaments hairs only at the base, the pistillate flowers with stout, spreading styles 0.5-1 mm. long.
Achenes pubescent above
Separate from the similar Eriogonum douglasii by the involucre lobes; E. thymoides has erect lobes, E. douglasii, reflexed to spreading lobes.
PNW Herbaria: Specimen records of Eriogonum thymoides in the Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria database
WA Flora Checklist: Eriogonum thymoides checklist entry
OregonFlora: Eriogonum thymoides information
E-Flora BC: Eriogonum thymoides atlas page
CalPhotos: Eriogonum thymoides photos