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Western Wetland Flora

Field Office Guide to Plant Species

Nuttall's Sunflower
Helianthus nuttallii Torr. & Gray

JPG -- Species Photo JPG -- Distribution Map

Family: Composite (Compositae)
Flowering: July-November
Field Marks: This tall sunflower has yellow flower heads up to 2 1/2 inches wide. The bracts that subtend the flower heads may be as long as 1 inch.
Habitat: Moist or dry meadows.
Habit: Perennial herb with thickened roots and short rhizomes.
Stems: Upright, branched or unbranched, up to 12 feet tall, smooth or less commonly hairy, more or less glaucous.
Leaves: All opposite, or the uppermost alternate, simple, narrowly lanceolate to lanceolate, up to 6 inches long, up to 1 1/2 inches wide, pointed at the tip, tapering to the sessile or short-stalked base, with or without teeth, short-hairy and
Flowers: Many crowded together into heads up to 2 1/2 inches across, each head consisting of 12-20 yellow rays and a central disk of yellow-tubular flowers; bracts surrounding the heads elongated, pointed at the tip, rough-hairy, up to 1 inch lo
Sepals: 0.
Petals: 5, yellow, some of them united to form rays, others united to form tubular flowers that comprise the central disk.
Stamens: 5.
Pistils: Ovary inferior.
Fruits: Achenes ellipsoid, up to 1/6 inch long, smooth.
Notes: The achenes are eaten by birds.

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Page Last Modified: Saturday, 02-Feb-2013 06:27:11 EST
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