Woolly meadowfoam Limnanthes floccosa is a member of the genus section inflexae (wherein the petals curve over the fruit when it is mature).

The flowers mostly remain closed even at maturity, in contrast to Table Mountain meadowfoam (Limnanthes douglasii ssp.

[9] (The Jepson Manual notes a putative subspecies (bellingeriana) has been "reported from Cascade Range Foothills but requires further study".)

It differs from the two endemic Oregon subspecies pumila and grandiflora and the northern California bellingeriana in that it has densely hairy sepals and herbage.

L. f. subsp.bellingeriana (M. Peck) C. T. Mason was named for Dr. Grover C. and Mrs. Hattie Bellinger who first collected a sample of the herbaceous plant in 1936.

grandiflora Arroyo is only known from vernal pools in the Agate Desert, an area near White City, Oregon.

Unlike other subspecies of Limnanthes floccosa, the subspecies pumila (Howell) Arroyo inhabits the edges of vernal pools and wetter areas on Upper and Lower Table Rock, lava formations in the Rogue Valley, Jackson County, Oregon.

[13] The 3.9-inch (9.9 cm) tall plants are distinguished by their cup shaped flowers with sepals that are hairless on the both surfaces and petals that have hairs along the margins at the base.

[15][16] Development of land in the Chico, California area, including highway improvements and construction of a school and a church, has been impacted by the federal and state protected status of the plant.

[17] Local celebrity Anthony Watts became involved in the conflict by suggesting that the endangered meadowfoam could be "farmed out of danger".