Helianthus bolanderi
Bolander's sunflower
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Family: Asteraceae · Type: Herb · Native
Helianthus bolanderi (Bolander's sunflower) is a native California herb in the Asteraceae family, recognized by long bracts exceeding disk.
Bolander's sunflower is a California native annual found in the Klamath Ranges, northern California Coast Ranges, California Ranges, Sierra Nevada Foothills, Central Valley, central western, and western Transverse Ranges in grassy, often disturbed places and gravelly stream sides at elevations below 1,800 meters. Flowering from June to October, this plant produces yellow ray flowers 14 to 20 millimeters long with disk flowers featuring distinctive red-purple lobes in heads 15 to 25 millimeters in diameter. Growing 10 to 150 centimeters tall with rough-hairy stems, it develops most leaves alternately positioned along the plant. Its leaves range from narrowly lance-linear to ovate, 3 to 15 centimeters long, with wedge-shaped to truncate bases and margins that are nearly entire to slightly serrated. The fruit is small, measuring 2.7 to 4.5 millimeters long with pappus scales 1.7 to 3 millimeters in length.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 9 sympatric species; key feature is long bracts exceeding disk
Habitat and range
Habitat: Grassy, often disturbed places, gravelly stream sides, sometimes on serpentine
Elevation: < 1800 m
Outside California: southern Oregon
Bloom period
Helianthus bolanderi blooms Jun-Oct.
How to tell it apart
vs Encelia: Helianthus is herbaceous with soft stems; Encelia is a woody shrub with persistent branches.; vs Bahiopsis: Helianthus has soft herbaceous stems; Bahiopsis is woody-based with persistent woody stems.; vs Wyethia: Helianthus has smaller disk flowers and readily falling seed scales; Wyethia has very large 8-12mm disk flowers.; vs Rudbeckia: Helianthus has a flat or rounded yellow center; Rudbeckia has a tall dark cone-shaped center.; vs Venegasia: Helianthus dies back to ground level; Venegasia is a large evergreen shrub in shaded canyons.
Frequently asked questions
Is Helianthus bolanderi native to California?
Yes. Helianthus bolanderi is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Helianthus bolanderi bloom?
Helianthus bolanderi blooms Jun-Oct.
What plant family does Helianthus bolanderi belong to?
Helianthus bolanderi is in the Asteraceae family, genus Helianthus.
What habitat does Helianthus bolanderi grow in?
Helianthus bolanderi grows in Grassy, often disturbed places, gravelly stream sides, sometimes on serpentine.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.