Helianthus is a genus comprising about 70 species of annual and perennial flowering plants in the daisy family Asteraceae commonly known as sunflowers. Except for three South American species, the species of Helianthus are native to North America and Central America. The best-known species is the common sunflower. This and other species, notably Jerusalem artichoke, are cultivated in temperate regions and some tropical regions, as food crops for humans, cattle, and poultry, and as ornamental plants. The species H. annuus typically grows during the summer and into early fall, with the peak growth season being mid-summer.
Helianthus pauciflorus, called the stiff sunflower, is a North American plant species in the family Asteraceae. It is widespread across the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the Great Lakes region, and naturalized in scattered locations in the eastern United States and in much of southern Canada.
Helianthella californica is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name California helianthella. This wildflower is native to the mountains of California, northwestern Nevada, and southwestern Oregon.
Helianthus bolanderi is a species of sunflower known by the common names Bolander's sunflower and serpentine sunflower. It is native to California and Oregon, where it grows mainly in mountainous areas, often in serpentine soils. It has been found from southwestern Oregon as well as in northern and central California as far south as Santa Cruz County, with reports of a few isolated populations in southern California.
Helianthus exilis is a species of sunflower known by the common name serpentine sunflower. It is endemic to northern California, where it grows mainly in mountainous areas, often in serpentine soils.
Helianthus cusickii is a species of sunflower known by the common names Cusick's sunflower and turniproot sunflower. It is native to the western United States from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, northern California, and northwestern Nevada.
Helianthus gracilentus is a species of sunflower known by the common name slender sunflower. It is native to central and southern California and Baja California, where it is a member of the dry wildfire-prone chaparral ecosystem.
Helianthus maximiliani is a North American species of sunflower known by the common name Maximilian sunflower.
Helianthus niveus is a species of sunflower known by the common names showy sunflower and snowy sunflower. It is native to northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States.
Helianthus grosseserratus, commonly known as sawtooth sunflower or thick-tooth sunflower, is a perennial sunflower in the family Asteraceae, with a large flowering head (inflorescence).
Balsamorhiza deltoidea is a species of flowering plant in the sunflower tribe of the plant family Asteraceae known by the common name deltoid balsamroot. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California, where it grows in many types of generally mountainous habitat.
Helianthus occidentalis, the fewleaf sunflower or western sunflower, is a species of sunflower native to the Eastern and Central United States. It grows mostly in the Great Lakes Region and in the Ozarks, with additional populations scattered as far as Massachusetts, Texas, and the Florida Panhandle.
Nothocalais alpestris is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name alpine lake false dandelion. It is native to the Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada and other mountains from northern Washington to central California, where it grows in subalpine forests and meadows, most commonly at 1,200–2,700 m (4,000–9,000 ft) elevation.
Helianthus petiolaris is a North American plant species in the family Asteraceae, commonly known as the prairie sunflower or lesser sunflower. Naturalist and botanist Thomas Nuttall was the first to describe the prairie sunflower in 1821. The word petiolaris in Latin means, “having a petiole”. The species originated in Western United States, but has since expanded east. The prairie sunflower is sometimes considered a weed.
Helianthus decapetalus, known by the common names thinleaf sunflower and thin-leaved sunflower, is a perennial forb in the family Asteraceae. It is native to the Eastern and Central United States and Canada, from New Brunswick west to Iowa, Wisconsin, and Ontario, south as far as Georgia and Louisiana. It produces yellow composite flowers in late summer or early fall.
Crepis foetida is a European species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae with the common name stinking hawksbeard. It is widespread across much of Europe and Siberia, as well as being sparingly naturalized in scattered locations in the United States and Australia.
Helianthus hirsutus is a North American species of sunflower known by the common name hairy sunflower. It is widespread across south-central Canada, the eastern and central United States, and northeastern Mexico. It ranges from Ontario south to Florida, Coahuila, and Nuevo León, and west as far as Minnesota, Nebraska, and Texas.
Helianthus praecox is a North American species of sunflower known by the common name Texas sunflower. It is endemic to Texas. Most of the populations are either along the Gulf Coast or in the Río Grande Valley.
Helianthus nuttallii subsp. parishii is a subspecies of the species Helianthus nuttallii in the genus Helianthus, family Asteraceae. It is also known by the common names Los Angeles sunflower and Parish's sunflower. This subspecies has not been seen, in the wild or in cultivation, since 1937.
Helianthus nuttalliisubsp. nuttallii, also known by the common name Nuttall's sunflower is a subspecies of Helianthus nuttallii in the genus Helianthus in the family Asteraceae. It is considered by The Plant List to be a synonym for H. nuttallii. However, The Jepson Manual argues that it is distinct from the species.
