Home
Advanced Search Map Locator
View Settings
Nurseries Carrying this Plant Add Current Plant To List Edit Current Plant
Show all Photos

About Calscape Nurseries
California Garden Planner Bay Area Garden Planner (NEW) Planting Guide
Butterflies My Plant Lists
Contact Calscape
Tap map to see plants native to location
Order by Popularity Order by Common Name Order by Scientific Name Order by # of Butterflies Hosted
Show nursery cultivars Hide nursery cultivars
Show plants not in nurseries Hide plants not in nurseries
Grid view Text view
Loading....
California Sunflower
Helianthus californicus
  
About California Sunflower (Helianthus californicus) 9 Nurseries Carry This Plant Helianthus californicus is a species of sunflower known by the common name California sunflower. It is native to California and Baja California, where it grows in many types of habitat. This wild sunflower is an erect perennial growing from a network of tough, woody roots with small rhizomes. It is a sprawling, gangly plant, sending a thin stem to heights between one and three meters or more. The lance-shaped leaves may be 20 centimeters long and are smooth or slightly toothed along the edges. The flower cluster holds several flower heads. Each head is supported by a base covered in long, pointed phyllaries that bend back as the head ages and develops fruit. The flower head has a fringe of golden yellow ray florets, each two or three centimeters long, and a center filled with curly yellow and brown disc florets. The achene is about half a centimeter long.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Perennial herb, Annual herb

Size
Size
3.3 - 11 ft tall

Flower Color
Flower Color
Yellow

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Summer, Fall

Wildlife Supported
 


Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Low, Moderate - High

Nurseries
Nurseries

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium, Slow, Standing

Common uses
Common uses
Bird Gardens, Bee Gardens

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17*, 18, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Dry, rocky places, marshes and streambanks

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 5.6" - 54.2", Summer Precipitation: 0.17" - 2.95", Coldest Month: 38.1" - 54.3", Hottest Month: 59.4" - 77.5", Humidity: 1.04" - 25.94", Elevation: 0" - 7432"


Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


Sign in to your Calscape Account X




Once signed in, you'll be able to access any previously saved plant lists or create new ones.

Email Address
Password

Sign In