Stiff Sunflower
Helianthus pauciflorus
Rhizomatous prairie sunflower with stiff, sandpapery leaves and yellow daisies around a reddish disk. Spreads to feed pollinators and seed-eating birds. Like cultivated sunflower, it's being developed as a modern perennial oilseed crop.
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Type
- wildflower
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 2–5 ft
- Spacing
- 2–3 ft apart
- Light
- sun
- Soil moisture
- dry, moist
- Soil pH
- neutral, alkaline
- Bloom
- June, July, August, September, October, November
- Bloom colors
- yellow
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, butterflies, songbirds, larval host
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~58 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- border, erosion control, naturalizing
- Native states
- AR, CO, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, ND, NE, NJ, NM, OK, SD, TX, WI, WY
Related native plants
More Helianthus species
- Maximilian Sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani)
- Beach Sunflower (Helianthus debilis)
- Swamp Sunflower (Helianthus angustifolius)
- Ashy Sunflower (Helianthus mollis)
- Woodland Sunflower (Helianthus divaricatus)
- Prairie Sunflower (Helianthus petiolaris)