North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Helianthus heterophyllus

Helianthus heterophyllus Nutt.

savanna sunflower

Image ID: 9133
Image by: Ware, Richard & Teresa
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: HEHE4
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Helianthus heterophyllus
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2020-01-01

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: HELIA3
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Helianthus
GENUS AUTHORITY: L.
GENUS COMMON: Sunflower
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of about 50 species, herbs, of North America.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Schilling in FNA (2006c); Heiser et al. (1969); Cronquist (1980)=SE; Schilling et al. (1998). Key adapted from FNA, SE, RAB, and Heiser et al. (1969).

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: ASTERA
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Asteraceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: Dumortier 1822 or COMPOSITAE Giseke 1792
FAMILY COMMON: Aster Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of about 1500-1700 genera and 20,000-25,000 species, shrubs, herbs, trees, and vines, cosmopolitan in distribution.
FAMILY REFERENCE: Cronquist (1980)=SE throughout family treatment.

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO:
STEMS:
LEAVES:
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS:
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT: 4 ft.

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Herb

LEAF ARRANGEMENT:
LEAF COMPLEXITY:
LEAF RETENTION:

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY:
BLOOM TIME: Aug-Oct

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
								x	x

BLOOM COLOR: Yellow flowers

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
				x

FRUITING PERIOD:

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE:
NATIVE RANGE:

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: Native to wet savannas and seepage bogs in the coastal plain, savanna sunflower has lovely yellow flowers with brown centers. Its stems are nearly leafless, and similar to swamp sunflower (Helianthus angustifolius), it spreads by underground rhizomes. Savanna sunflower is a good source of nectar for butterflies, and many birds enjoy eating its seeds.

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Moist/Wet
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 7
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 9
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE: Bee Friendly, Butterfly Friendly, Bird Friendly
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
90	HORT	2010-11-01	Poythress	View
2576	NPMD	2021-11-03	Pil	View

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
89	2012-0061	2012-06-05	90	View
1828	1986-1609			View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
118	89	42	NCBG staff	2012-03-21	View
138	89	36	NCBG staff	2012-03-21	View
2919	1828	64	NCBG staff	1984-03-11	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: HEHE4
USDA Common Name: Variableleaf Sunflower
Native Status: L48 (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, SC)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Forb/herb

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	OBL		OBL		OBL	OBL

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Helianthus heterophyllus
COMMON NAME: Savanna Sunflower
SYNONYMY: [= FNA, GW, K, RAB, S, SE, WH3]
PHENOLOGY: Aug-Oct.
HABITAT: Wet savannas, seepage bogs.
COMMENTS: A Southeastern Coastal Plain endemic: se. NC south to Panhandle FL and west to se. LA.
RANGE MAP: Helianthus heterophyllus.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Asteraceae Dumortier 1822 or COMPOSITAE Giseke 1792 (Aster Family)
SUMMARY: A family of about 1500-1700 genera and 20,000-25,000 species, shrubs, herbs, trees, and vines, cosmopolitan in distribution.
REFERENCE: Cronquist (1980)=SE throughout family treatment.

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Helianthus L. (Sunflower)
SUMMARY: A genus of about 50 species, herbs, of North America.
REFERENCE: Schilling in FNA (2006c); Heiser et al. (1969); Cronquist (1980)=SE; Schilling et al. (1998). Key adapted from FNA, SE, RAB, and Heiser et al. (1969).

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Helianthus heterophyllus in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Helianthus heterophyllus in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Helianthus heterophyllus in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Helianthus heterophyllus in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Helianthus heterophyllus in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Helianthus heterophyllus

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 9133 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 9133 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 9134 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 9133 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)