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Plant: Common Sunflower

Name: Helianthus annuus Aster Family	Description: Tall, coarsely hairy annual plants with very stout stems and broad alternate leaves, sometimes with the lowest leaves opposite. Although cultivated plants can exceed 10', wild plants are usually less than 5' tall. The long-stalked, rough leaves are typically up to 8" long, with toothed edges, broad bases, and triangular tips. At the ends of branches on the upper part of the plant are one to several large flower heads. Each head has a reddish brown central disk 1" or more in diameter, surrounded by 20 or more yellow, petal-like ray flowers. Each ray flower is 1-2" long, usually with impressed parallel lines along its length. Midsummer-fall. Habitat/Range: Dry prairies, pastures, and disturbed open sites throughout the tallgrass region. Although probably native near the western edge of the tallgrass region, most of the plants seen today are introduced populations. Comments: This species was first cultivated by Native Americans. Many forms of Common Sunflower are now cultivated throughout the world for ornament, seed, forage, and oil. Some of the strains escape and become established. A similar annual sunflower, Plains sunflower (H. petiolaris), is a smaller plant with smaller flower heads, usually with darker brown disks containing scales with white hairs at their tips. (A Falcon Guide by Ladd/Oberle: Tallgrass Prairie Wildflowers)
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