Prairie Sunflower
Helianthus petiolaris
Prairie sunflower is a fast annual of sandy plains and dunes, bearing small classic sunflowers all summer and abundant seed for birds. Reseeds readily, quickly colonizing open, dry, disturbed ground. Like cultivated sunflower, the oily seed can be ground into a traditional seed butter.
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Type
- wildflower
- Lifespan
- annual
- Height
- 1–5 ft
- Spacing
- 1–2 ft apart
- Light
- sun
- Soil moisture
- dry, moist
- Soil pH
- neutral, alkaline, acidic
- Bloom
- June, July, August, September
- Bloom colors
- yellow
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, songbirds, butterflies, larval host
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~58 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- border
- Native states
- AR, AZ, CO, IA, ID, KS, LA, MA, MN, MO, MT, ND, NE, NJ, NM, NV, OK, PA, SD, TN, TX, UT, WI, WV, 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)
- Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus)