Helianthus annuus

Common sunflower

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Native

Common sunflower is a native annual found in California in disturbed areas, scrub, and grassland habitats at elevations below 2,000 meters. Flowering from June to October, this plant produces yellow ray flowers up to 50 millimeters long surrounding a disk with red to purple or yellow flower centers. Growing up to 3 meters tall with rough-hairy stems, it develops a robust and prominent structure in open landscapes. Its large leaves are widely lanceolate to triangular-ovate, typically 10 to 40 centimeters long, with margins ranging from nearly entire to slightly serrated and bristly undersides. The flower heads are typically 1 to 9 per plant, with involucres 1.5 to 4 centimeters in diameter, creating a distinctive and iconic appearance characteristic of this widespread annual.

Habitat: Disturbed areas, scrub, grassland, many other habitats

Bloom period: Jun-Oct

Elevation: < 2000 m

Bioregions: CA

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.