Helianthus schweinitzii
Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- hee-lee-AN-thus shwei-NIT-zee-eye
- Description
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Schweinitz's sunflower is a native, rhizomatous, herbaceous perennial wildflower in the daisy family (Asteraceae) found in the southern Piedmont of North Carolina and the northern Piedmont of South Carolina. Its native habitat consists of poor agricultural soils of clay or rocky fragments, as well as upland woods, thickets, old pastures, along roadsides, or powerline clearings. This plant grows 3 to 12 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide, with purplish, rough, and hairy stems. The leaves are bright green, lance-shaped, stiff, rough, with curled margins. The flower heads measure only 0.2 to 0.6 inches in diameter, making them much smaller than most other sunflowers. The petal rays are bright yellow, and the center floral disks are golden yellow. Blooming occurs from late August through October. The specific epithet schweinitzii honors Lewis David von Schweinitz, a Moravian clergyman, botanist, and mycologist from Salem, North Carolina. He searched for new species, studied local flora, and wrote several books about fungi in North Carolina in the early 1800s.
This plant prefers full sun to partial shade and medium, moist, well-drained soil. It is drought-tolerant and tolerant of sandy, clay, and dry soils. It is winter hardy in zones 7 through 9.
Once endemic to North Carolina and South Carolina, it is now listed as an endangered species by federal and North Carolina state agencies. This plant is one of the rarer sunflower species in the United States and is not recommended for home landscapes.
This plant has decreased in population due to threats of fires, grazing animals, roadside maintenance, and land development. There is vigorous effort to manage this plant's habitat by transplanting and restricting mowing in some areas of North Carolina, and to prevent further loss of this species. The North Carolina Natural Heritage Program currently lists this plant as vulnerable.
Quick ID Hints:
- Purplish, rough, hairy stems
- Tiny bright yellow flowerheads
- Narrow, green, lanceolate leaves with revolute margins
Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems: No known diseases or insect pests.
- See this plant in the following landscape :
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Helianthus
- Species:
- schweinitzii
- Family:
- Asteraceae
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Division
- Seed
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- North Carolina to South Carolina
- Distribution:
- Southern Piedmon of North Carolina and Northern Piedmont of South Carolina
- Wildlife Value:
- Flowers provide nectar to pollinators from July until the first frost. This is a larval host plant that supports Silvery Checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis). The Silvery Checkerspot has at least 1-2 broods in the north from June-July in the deep south and Texas, they have as many as 3-4 broods from May through September.
- Play Value:
- Attractive Flowers
- Attracts Pollinators
- Colorful
- Wildlife Larval Host
- Dimensions:
- Height: 3 ft. 0 in. - 12 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 2 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Herbaceous Perennial
- Native Plant
- Wildflower
- Habit/Form:
- Erect
- Growth Rate:
- Rapid
- Maintenance:
- Low
- Texture:
- Coarse
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- High Organic Matter
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil pH:
- Alkaline (>8.0)
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Dry
- Available Space To Plant:
- 3 feet-6 feet
- NC Region:
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Fruit Length:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Width:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Description:
- The fruit is a smooth, brown cypsela, measuring 0.13 to 0.14 inches long, with a bristle-haired pappus. Displays from September to November. Schweinitz's sunflower spreads through seed dispersal without a dormant period.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Head
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Fall
- Summer
- Flower Shape:
- Radial
- Flower Petals:
- 7 - 20 petals/rays
- Flower Description:
- The flowers have bright yellow petal rays and golden yellow center florets. The flower heads only measure 0.2 to 0.6 inches in diameter, with 8 to 11 petal rays per bloom. Blooms from August to October.
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Leaves:
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Feel:
- Rough
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Opposite
- Leaf Shape:
- Lanceolate
- Leaf Margin:
- Entire
- Hairs Present:
- Yes
- Leaf Length:
- > 6 inches
- Leaf Width:
- < 1 inch
- Leaf Description:
- The leaves are green, usually opposite, lanceolate, with smooth margins, measuring 2 to 7 inches long and 0.4 to 0.8 inches wide. The margins tend to curl under. The leaf texture is thick, stiff, and rough. There are spiny hairs on the upper surface, and soft white hairs on the underside. Leaves are arranged in pairs on the lower part of the stem but singly on the upper part. They grow from the stem at right angles, and leaf tips tend to droop.
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Purple/Lavender
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Form:
- Straight
- Stem Description:
- Stems are purple and usually solitary, branching only at or above mid-stem. The upper third bears secondary branches at 45-degree angles.
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Naturalized Area
- Woodland
- Attracts:
- Butterflies
- Pollinators
- Small Mammals
- Songbirds
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Dry Soil
- Poor Soil
