[4][5][2] Eriophyllum lanatum is a perennial herb growing from 30 to 60 centimetres (12 to 24 inches) in height, in well-branched clumps.

[2] The hairs conserve water by reflecting heat and reducing air movement across the leaf's surface.

[3] The Lewis and Clark Expedition reportedly saw this plant growing above their camp on the Clearwater River (near present-day Kamiah, Idaho), and collected two specimens on 6 June 1806.

[citation needed] Botanist Frederick Traugott Pursh studied the plants collected on the expedition; his first classification and naming of the species, as Actinella lanata, was published in 1813.

It is most common across California,[4] also growing north through Oregon into British Columbia and east through Idaho into Wyoming, and through Nevada into Utah.