stiff sunflower

(Helianthus pauciflorus ssp. pauciflorus)

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List

not listed

NatureServe

N5? - Secure

SNR - Unranked

Minnesota

not listed

 

 

No Image Available

 

Description

Stiff sunflower (ssp.pauciflorus) is an erect, annual forb that rises on a single stem from long, thick, branched, creeping rhizomes. It can be from 32 to 78 tall, though it is usually no more than 60 in height. It often forms colonies.

The stems are erect, green or reddish-brown, and unbranched or sparingly branched near the top. They are rough to the touch due to a moderate to dense covering of short, stiff, ascending to spreading hairs. The stems are usually leafless near the top.

There are usually 8 to 15 leaf nodes below the inflorescence. Lower leaves are opposite, uppermost leaves are usually alternate. Lower and middle leaves are oblong lance-shaped to narrowly egg-shaped, relatively thick, and flat, not folded longitudinally. They are 3 to 10 long and ¾ to 2 wide, 2½ to 8 times as long as wide. They are wedge-shaped at the base and taper gradually to a sharp point at the tip with concave sides along the tip. The upper and lower surfaces are rough to the touch due to a moderate to dense covering of minute, stiff hairs. They are also sparsely to moderately covered with minute, stalkless, yellow glands. The margins are finely toothed to almost untoothed. The leaves have 3 main veins, a midvein and a pair of lateral veins that branch off the main vein well above the base and arch upward.

The inflorescence is sometimes a solitary head, usually an open cluster of 2 to 10 flower heads at the end of the stem. The flower heads are on stalks that are 13 16 to 4¾ long.

The whorl of bracts at the base of the flower head (involucre) is to in diameter. The bracts of the involucre are elliptic to egg-shaped and taper to a blunt or sharp point at the tip. The tips of the bracts are tightly appressed.

The flower heads are 1½ to 2½ wide, the disk is to 1 in diameter. There are 10 to 20 yellow ray florets and 75 or more reddish-brown to purple disk florets.

The fruit is an achene.

 

Height

32 to 60

 

Flower Color

Yellow ray florets, reddish-brown to purple disk florets

 

Similar Species

Stiff sunflower (Helianthus pauciflorus ssp. subrhomboideus) tends to be shorter, 12 to 48 in height. There are usually only 5 to 10 leaf nodes below the inflorescence. The uppermost leaves are usually opposite. The lower and middle leaves are shorter, 2 to 4¾ long. They are rhombic egg-shaped to lance-linear and taper to a blunt or sharp point at the tip with straight sides along the tip.

Habitat

Dry to moderately wet. Prairies, upland forest openings, pastures, railroads, roadsides.

Ecology

Flowering

July to September

 

Pests and Diseases

Sunflower bullet gall midge (Pilodiplosis helianthibulla) makes ¼ in diameter, almost globe-shaped galls on the leaves of plants in the genus Helianthus.

 

Defense Mechanisms

The roots exude chemicals that inhibit seed germination and growth of young plants. When in a dense colony, these chemicals may cause the inner plants to die, leaving a ring of living plants.

Use

 

Distribution

Distribution Map

 

Sources

3, 4, 7, 28, 29, 30.

3/21/2024    
     

Nativity

Native

     

Occurrence

 

Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae (green algae and land plants)

Subkingdom

Viridiplantae (green plants)

Infrakingdom

Streptophyta (land plants and green algae)

Superdivision

Embryophyta (land plants)

Division

Tracheophyta (vascular plants)

Subdivision

Spermatophytina (seed plants)

Class

Magnoliopsida (flowering plants)

Superorder

Asteranae

Order

Asterales (sunflowers, bellflowers, fanflowers, and allies)

Family

Asteraceae (sunflowers, daisies, asters, and allies)

Subfamily

Asteroideae

Supertribe

Helianthodae

Tribe

Heliantheae (sunflowers and allies)

Subtribe

Helianthinae

Genus

Helianthus (sunflowers)

Species

Helianthus pauciflorus (stiff sunflower)

   

The species epithet pauciflorus means few-flowered.

 

Subordinate Taxa

 

   

Synonyms

Helianthus laetiflorus var. rigidus

Helianthus rigidus

   

Common Names

few-leaved sunflower

prairie sunflower

stiff sunflower

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Achene

A dry, one-chambered, single-seeded fruit, formed from a single carpel, with the seed attached to the membranous outer layer (wall) only by the seed stalk; the wall, formed entirely from the wall of the superior ovary, does not split open at maturity, but relies on decay or predation to release the contents.

 

Allelopathy

The release of a chemical toxin by one plant to inhibit the growth or germination of nearby competing plants.

 

Bract

Modified leaf at the base of a flower stalk, flower cluster, or inflorescence.

 

Involucre

A whorl of bracts beneath or surrounding a flower or flower cluster.

 

Linear

Long, straight, and narrow, with more or less parallel sides, like a blade of grass.

 

Node

The small swelling of the stem from which one or more leaves, branches, or buds originate.

 

Rhizome

A horizontal, usually underground stem. It serves as a reproductive structure, producing roots below and shoots above at the nodes.

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