Helianthus californicus

California sunflower

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

California sunflower is a California native perennial found in southern North Coast Ranges, central Sierra Nevada Forest, southern Sierra Nevada Forest (Piute Mountains), central Sierra Nevada High Country, Sacramento Valley, northwestern San Joaquin Valley, northern Central Western, and Southwestern regions in springs, marshes, streambanks, and canyons at elevations below 1,850 meters. Flowering from July to October, this plant produces yellow ray flowers with yellow disk centers in heads 10 to 25 millimeters wide, featuring 12 to 21 distinctive ray flowers. Growing 15 to 35 decimeters tall with thick, woody roots and a short rhizome, it develops glaucous stems that are grooved and glabrous. Its alternate leaves are lanceolate, 10 to 20 centimeters long, with wedge-shaped bases and acute tips, featuring rough-hairy undersides that are distinctively gland-dotted. The fruit is approximately 4.5 to 5 millimeters long with small pappus scales.

Habitat: Springs, marshes, streambanks, canyons

Bloom period: Jul-Oct

Elevation: < 1850 m

Bioregions: s NCoR, c SNF, s SNF (Piute Mtns), c SNH, ScV, nw SnJV, n CW, SW

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