Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Asterales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Helianthus occidentalis
FAMILY
Asteraceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Helianthus at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Helianthus occidentalis ssp. occidentalis
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Helianthus occidentalis ssp. occidentalis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21 (2006)
Helianthus occidentalis ssp. occidentalis
INCLUDING Vascular Flora of the Southeastern States (Cronquist 1980, Isely 1990)
Helianthus occidentalis var. dowellianus
INCLUDING Flora of West Virginia (Strausbaugh & Core, 1978)
Helianthus dowellianus
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-65-007:
Helianthus occidentalis FAMILY Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Helianthus occidentalis
COMMON NAME:
Naked-stem Sunflower, Fewleaf Sunflower, Western Sunflower
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_h_occidentalis_occi_2
August
Flower heads 2-3" across, terminating stem & branches, with 10-15 rays, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_h_occidentalis_occi_4
August
Leaves basally disposed and long-stalked, the almost entire blades 3-6" long, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Helianthus occidentalis
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Helianthus occidentalis ssp. occidentalis
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Helianthus occidentalis ssp. occidentalis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21
Helianthus occidentalis ssp. occidentalis
INCLUDING
Vascular Flora of the Southeastern States (Cronquist 1980, Isely 1990)
Helianthus occidentalis var. dowellianus
INCLUDING
Flora of West Virginia (Strausbaugh & Core, 1978)
Helianthus dowellianus
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-65-007:
Helianthus occidentalis
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Helianthus occidentalis
3389
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Rocky or sandy flood-scoured riversides, dry hammocks (in FL), per Weakley's Flora
Native to North Carolina & Georgia
Rare
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Opposite (basal rosette often absent or withered at flowering)
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Rays: Yellow
Disc: Yellow
Inferior ovary
Disc flowers bisexual & fertile/ Ray flowers pistillate but sterile
FRUIT:
Achene
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p123
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p087
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p305
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p354
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p191
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".