Helianthus petiolaris subsp. petiolaris

Family: Asteraceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Naturalizing sunflower is a non-native annual found in the San Francisco Bay Area and southwestern California in disturbed areas at elevations generally below 450 meters. Flowering from May to October, this plant produces yellow flowers with dark centers in heads approximately 5 to 8 centimeters wide. Growing with branching stems 30 to 100 centimeters tall, it has rough, short-hairy stems that spread across open ground. Its leaves are strigose (covered in straight, appressed hairs), with rough green surfaces that appear somewhat bristly to the touch. The plant's distinctive disk flowers have a corolla throat that abruptly narrows to a densely hairy basal region, creating a unique textural appearance.

Habitat: Disturbed areas

Bloom period: May-Oct

Elevation: generally < 450 m

Bioregions: SnFrB, SW

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