Helianthus nuttallii subsp. nuttallii

Nuttall's sunflower, Nuttall's Sunflower

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Nuttall's sunflower is a California native perennial found in the Great Basin, western Desert Mountains, San Gabriel Mountains, and San Bernardino Mountains in damp meadows, springs, and streams at elevations of 1,200 to 1,750 meters. Flowering from June to October, this plant produces yellow sunflower heads with dark brown to black disk centers. Growing with upright stems 30 to 150 centimeters tall that are smooth to slightly rough, it forms robust clumps in moist habitats. Its leaves are rough on the upper surface and short-hairy underneath, with lance-shaped blades 10 to 25 centimeters long that become smaller toward the top of the plant. The numerous flower heads are supported by smooth or slightly bristly stalks, creating dense clusters of bright yellow blooms characteristic of wild sunflowers.

Habitat: Damp meadows, springs, streams

Bloom period: Jun-Oct

Elevation: 1200-1750 m

Bioregions: SnGb, SnBr, GB, w DMoj

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