Helianthus occidentalis

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Helianthus occidentalis
Helianthus occidentalis compressed.JPG
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Helianthus
Species:
H. occidentalis
Binomial name
Helianthus occidentalis
Synonyms [1]
  • Helianthus dowellianusM.A.Curtis
  • Helianthus illinoensisGleason [2]

Helianthus occidentalis, the fewleaf sunflower or western sunflower, [3] 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. [4]

Helianthus occidentalis differs from other, similar species by its sparse leaves, most of which are crowded around the lower part of the stem. This perennial plant reaches heights from 2 to 5 ft (60–150 cm). It produces one to several yellow flower heads, each with 8-14 ray florets surrounding more than 50 disc florets. [3]

The word occidentalis means "western" in Latin. The plant was first described in 1836, when the Great Lakes Region was considered the western part of the United States. [5] [6]

Subspecies [1] [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Silphium</i> (genus) Genus of plants

Silphium is a genus of North American plants in the tribe Heliantheae within the family Asteraceae.

<i>Helianthus</i> Genus of flowering plants, the sunflowers

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.

<i>Rudbeckia</i> Genus of flowering plants in the daisy family Asteraceae

Rudbeckia is a plant genus in the Asteraceae or composite family. Rudbeckia flowers feature a prominent, raised central disc in black, brown shades of green, and in-between tones, giving rise to their familiar common names of coneflowers and black-eyed-susans. All are native to North America, and many species are cultivated in gardens for their showy yellow or gold flower heads that bloom in mid to late summer.

<i>Helianthus nuttallii</i> Species of sunflower

Helianthus nuttallii, or Nuttall's sunflower, is a species of sunflower native to northern, central, and western North America, from Newfoundland west to British Columbia, south to Missouri, New Mexico, and California.

<i>Helianthus pauciflorus</i> Species of sunflower

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.

<i>Eurybia sibirica</i> Species of plant

Eurybia sibirica, commonly known as the Siberian aster or arctic aster, is an herbaceous perennial native to north western North America and northern Eurasia. It is found largely in open areas of subarctic boreal forests, though it is also found in a wide variety of habitats in the region. It is similar in appearance to Eurybia merita, but their ranges overlap only near the border between the US and Canada, where E. sibirica is generally found at higher elevations.

<i>Helianthus giganteus</i> Species of sunflower

Helianthus giganteus, the giant sunflower or tall sunflower, is a species of Helianthus native to the eastern United States and eastern and central Canada, from Newfoundland west to Alberta south to Minnesota, Mississippi, and South Carolina.

<i>Helianthus ciliaris</i> Species of sunflower

Helianthus ciliaris is a species of sunflower known by the common names Texas blueweed and yerba parda.

<i>Helianthus maximiliani</i> Species of sunflower

Helianthus maximiliani is a North American species of sunflower known by the common name Maximilian sunflower.

<i>Helianthus grosseserratus</i> Species of plant

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).

<i>Helianthus petiolaris</i> Species of sunflower

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.

<i>Helianthus debilis</i> Species of sunflower

Helianthus debilis is a species of sunflower known by the common names cucumberleaf sunflower, beach sunflower, weak sunflower, and East Coast dune sunflower. It is native to the United States, where it can be found along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. It is known elsewhere as an introduced species, such as South Africa, Australia, Taiwan, Slovakia, and Cuba.

<i>Helianthus angustifolius</i> Species of sunflower

Helianthus angustifolius is a species of sunflower known by the common name narrowleaf sunflower or swamp sunflower. It is native to the south-central and eastern United States, found in all the coastal states from Texas to Long Island, and inland as far as Missouri. It is typically found in the coastal plain habitat, particularly in wet areas.

<i>Helianthus decapetalus</i> Species of sunflower

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.

<i>Helianthus eggertii</i> Species of sunflower

Helianthus eggertii, known as Eggert's sunflower, is a North American species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. It is native to Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Alabama. It is best known as one of the few plants to have been delisted under the Endangered Species Act because of the species' recovery. It was described by John Kunkel Small in 1903.

<i>Helianthus hirsutus</i> Species of sunflower

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.

<i>Helianthus mollis</i> Species of sunflower

Helianthus mollis is a species of sunflower known by the common names ashy sunflower, hairy sunflower or downy sunflower. It is widespread across much of the United States and Canada, primarily the Great Lakes region from Ontario south to Texas and Alabama. Additional populations are found in the states of the Atlantic Coast from Maine to Georgia, but these appear to be introduced.

<i>Helianthus porteri</i> Species of sunflower

Helianthus porteri is a species of sunflower known by the common names Porter's sunflower, Stone Mountain daisy and Confederate daisy. The term "daisy" is imprecise because the species is a sunflower (Helianthus) rather than a daisy. Likewise, although the plant grows on Stone Mountain, GA, its range extends well beyond. The connection to the Confederacy is through Stone Mountain which contains a confederate monument, although the connection is tenuous as the species was named before the Civil War in 1849 by Harvard botanist Asa Gray in honor of Thomas Conrad Porter, a Pennsylvanian minister and botanist who collected the plant in Georgia. Gray initially named the plant Rudbeckia porteri, later changed to Helianthus in 1998 by John F. Pruski.

<i>Helianthus salicifolius</i> Species of sunflower

Helianthus salicifolius is a North American species of sunflower known by the common name willowleaf sunflower. It is native to the central United States, primarily in the Great Plains and Ozark Plateau. There are a few reports of scattered populations in the Northeast and Midwest parts of the country, but these appear to be escapes from cultivation.

<i>Helianthus silphioides</i> Species of sunflower

Helianthus silphioides is a North American species of sunflower known by the common names rosinweed sunflower or Ozark sunflower. It is native to the central United States, primarily in the Ozarks and the Tennessee Valley with additional populations north into Kentucky and Illinois and south as far as Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

References

  1. 1 2 "Helianthus occidentalis". The Global Compositae Checklist (GCC) via The Plant List. Note that this website has been superseded by World Flora Online
  2. photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in Illinois in 1904, type specimen of Helianthus illinoensis, syn of Helianthus occidentalis
  3. 1 2 3 Schilling, Edward E. (2006). "Helianthus occidentalis". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 21. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  4. "Helianthus occidentalis". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014.
  5. Riddell, John Leonard (1836). Western Journal of the Medical and Physical Sciences. 9 (36): 577.{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. "Helianthus occidentalis". Tropicos . Missouri Botanical Garden.