Helianthus niveus subsp. tephrodes

Algodones dunes sunflower, Algodones Dunes Sunflower

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Algodones dunes sunflower is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native perennial found in southern Desert Sonoran regions of Imperial County on sand dunes at elevations generally below 100 meters. Flowering from March to May and October to January, this plant produces yellow ray flowers with red-purple disk lobes in heads 8 to 28 millimeters wide. Growing 15 to 50 centimeters tall with soft white stems covered in appressed hairs, it develops from a robust taproot. Its alternate leaves are triangular-ovate, 3 to 7 centimeters long, with wedge-shaped bases and densely white-hairy surfaces that are gland-dotted underneath. The fruit is 4 to 8 millimeters long and covered in long, dense hairs.

Habitat: Sand dunes

Bloom period: Mar-May, Oct--Jan

Elevation: generally < 100 m

Bioregions: s DSon (Imperial Co.)

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