Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses - Maximilian sunflower

MAXIMILIAN SUNFLOWER

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Helianthus maximiliani Schrad.

Riley County, Kansas

Perennial

Height: 2-9 feet

Family: Asteraceae - Sunflower Family

Flowering Period: August, September

Stems:

Erect, solitary or loosely clustered, light green to occasionally reddish, rough-hairy, especially above.

Leaves:

Mostly alternate, simple, short-stalked, lanceolate, 3 to 12 inches long, 1/2 to 2 inches wide, rough, grayish green, often folded lengthwise to form down-curving trough; margins entire to shallow-toothed.

Inflorescences:

Heads, numerous, usually in raceme-like clusters, on stout stalks, in upper leaf axils, 2 to 3 inches wide; bracts linear-lanceolate, exceeding disk, hairy, tips slender.

Flowers:

Ray florets 10-25, to 1.5 inch long, yellow; disk florets yellow.

Fruits:

Achenes, wedge-shaped, flattened, gray, black spotted, without bristles or scales, enclosing small seed.

Habitat:

Open, dry or damp prairies, rocky pastures and hillsides, waste ground, roadsides, and low moist areas, most abundant in sandy soils.

Distribution:

Throughout Kansas.

Forage Value:

Maximilian sunflower is a desirable range plant that is palatable and nutritious for livestock.

Uses:

Produces a heavy crop of seed that is excellent wildlife food.