Western Sunflower
Helianthus occidentalis
Western sunflower is unusual for its near-leafless flowering stalks rising from a basal rosette, lifting yellow daisies above dry prairies and glades. A tidy, drought-hardy sunflower for lean soils.
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Type
- forb
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 2–4 ft
- Spacing
- 1–2 ft apart
- Light
- sun
- Soil moisture
- dry
- Soil pH
- acidic, neutral
- Bloom
- August, September
- Bloom colors
- yellow
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, songbirds, butterflies, larval host
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~58 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- border
- Native states
- AR, IL, IN, MI, MN, MO, OH, TN, TX, WI, WV