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(updated May 17, 2021)
Maximilian Sunflower
Helianthus maximiliani Schrad.
Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)
▲▼ mature, flowering plants
▲▼ mature, flowering plants
▲▼ mature, flowering plants
▲▼ mature, flowering plants
▲▼head inflorescences
▲▼head inflorescences
▲▼stems and leaves
Helianthus maximiliani
Schrad., Maximilian Sunflower:
(Bayer Code:
HELMA; US Code HEMN2)
·
U.S. native creeping perennial, rhizome-producing wildflower that grows
1.5-10 feet tall or more, usually with unbranched, green rough-textured, hairy
stems
·
Leaves are mostly alternate, lanceolate, up to 12 inches long,
light-green usually with smooth margins and a pointed tip, although sometimes
leaves have a few teeth along the margins; leaves have very short or no
petioles; both surfaces of the leaf are covered with fine, white hairs; upper
surface has is dotted with glands; leaf margins tend to fold up along the
midvein, and the whole leaf curves downward from the stem toward the leaf tip
·
Head inflorescences are 2-3.5 inches in diameter, produced at stem tips,
with 10-25 yellow ray florets (“petals”) that are puckered or ridged where they
join the head, and 75 or more yellow disk florets
·
Bracts below the head are in overlapping rows, linear-lanceolate, with
very long, tapering, pointed tips; bract tips curve out from base of head, are
hairy with some gland dots
·
Flowering from late summer through autumn
·
Prefers full-sun, pastures, prairies, rangeland, glades, right-of-ways
·
The green, rough-textured, hairy stems and very long, thin leaves
covered with white hairs are characteristic for this species of perennial
sunflower; similar
Sawtooth Sunflower (Helianthus
grosserratus)
has reddish-green to purplish, hairless stems with a waxy bloom/coating
PERENNIAL SUNFLOWERS:
·
Include
Ashy
Sunflower,
Texas Blueweed,
Maximilian Sunflower,
Sawtooth
Sunflower,
Western Sunflower,
Willowleaf Sunflower,
Jerusalem Artichoke,
and other species
·
All are creeping perennial weeds that form rhizomes and/or creeping
roots that allow them to spread to form colonies with maturity
·
Most are palatable to livestock, except in fertile soils, where high
nitrate accumulation may cause poisoning, but may be seen as weedy in reduced
tillage crops
·
Once established, these species can be hard to
control, but
most
(not all) are not considered to be weedy
·
Most produce relatively tall (4-8 feet tall or more), unbranched, leafy
stems with linear, lanceolate to ovate/triangular, rough-textured leaves; upper
stem portions are usually branched with the onset of flowering, so that each
branch stem tip has a flower head
·
Flowers for most perennial sunflowers quite similar (with some
exceptions); they are in terminal clusters, flowering usually sometime from
mid-summer to late autumn, with yellow ray flowers and yellow to brown disk
flowers; total flower diameter is usually 2-4 inches
o
Perennial sunflower “flowers” are usually smaller
than annual sunflower “flowers,” such as with
Annual Sunflower (Helianthus
annuus) or
Prairie Sunflower (Helianthus
petiolaris)
·
Usually, it is more of the stem and leaf characteristics that are used
to identify the different perennial sunflower species
·
Click on
links
of above individual plant names to see more information on each one
·
Most perennial sunflowers
are native plants that usually do not cause harm in grazing or haying situations
(maybe with the exception of Texas blueweed).
Perennial sunflowers
provide food and nectar for native insects (including bees and butterflies),
birds and other animals, and generally should not be killed indiscriminately.
Maintaining proper grazing
levels can often reduce their unwanted increase in pastures and rangeland.