Woolly mules-ears, a tufted, perennial herb of the aster or sun- 

 flower family, is also known as woolly wyethia, gray dock, and big 

 sunflower. It is rather similar in general appearance, habitat and 

 forage value to most of the 15 western species of Wyethia. Its chief 

 difference is its soft, densely hair-covered leaves. The generic name, 

 Wyethia, is in honor of Captain Wyeth (see W206), who appears 

 to have first collected this plant. 



Woolly mules-ears is an abundant and common species in Cali- 

 fornia and southern Oregon and also occurs in Nevada. It grows on 

 well-drained soils, exposed ridges, dry open slopes and flats mainly 

 within the ponderosa pine and red fir (Abies magnifica) belts and is 

 sometimes found at elevations as high as 9,000 feet. It thrives best 

 under conditions typical of the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada 

 Mountains. The plants grow in dense stands almost to the exclusion 

 of other vegetation in such sites as the red-fir belt, on ridges and 

 flats which have been heavily used and trampled by sheep. Nor- 

 mally, however, they are scattered and appear in mixture with other 

 species. 



Woolly mules-ears begins growth soon after the earliest spring 

 plants, and makes its most rapid growth while the soil is still moist. 

 When the plants are young and tender, they are most readily eaten 

 by livestock and game. In general, the species is considered to be 

 low in palatability for cattle and only slightly better for sheep. 

 The flower heads are the most palatable part pi the plant and are 

 usually eaten with relish. The close relationship of the plant to the 

 common sunflower (Helianthus annuus) suggests that the seeds are 

 probably nutritious. The leafage is but slightly grazed. Deer feed 

 on the plants in the spring when the first shoots appear but general 

 observations indicate that they eat sparingly of the leafage when it 

 is older and less succulent. The plants generally mature and become 

 dry, brittle and worthless during the latter part of August and early 

 September. The roots and fruits of Wyethia species were used as 

 food by the Indians. 



Their deep-set root systems enable the wyethias to withstand graz- 

 ing fairly well. In fact, they tend to increase as the more palatable 

 species are killed out by heavy use. Reproduction, except perhaps 

 from vegetative enlargement of the clumps, is entirely from seed 

 which, if uninvested, is of high viability. The plants are rather 

 aggressive despite that a large portion of the seed crop is periodically 

 destroyed by the grubs of an insect. 



Woolly mules-ears grows from a thick, woody, deep-set taproot, 

 the stalks attaining a height of 1 to 3 feet. The herbage is silvery 

 and, when young, is thickly covered with soft, white woolly hairs, 

 but with age it often becomes greenish and clothed only with sparse, 

 downy hairs. The leaves in the basal clump are oblong-ovate, 

 pointed at the base, 7 to 19 inches long and are borne on leafstalks. 

 The few leaves produced on the flower stalks are smaller, usually 2 

 to 5 inches long, and short-stalked. The flower heads are solitary or 

 few, 1 to 3 inches in diameter, with deep yellmv ray flowers surround- 

 ing a yellow disk made up of small individual flowers set among 

 papery chaff on a flat base. 



