Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Asterales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Helianthus angustifolius
FAMILY
Asteraceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Narrowleaf Sunflower at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
H. simulans (Muck Sunflower) is often mislabeled and sold in the horticultual trade as H. angustifolius (Narrowleaf or Swamp Sunflower). The plants are similar, but Muck Sunflower is often much larger, aggressively rhizomatous, and can become quite invasive in the garden. Buyer beware. Read more in Guide to the Wildflowers of South Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Helianthus angustifolius
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21 (2006)
Helianthus angustifolius
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-65-002:
Helianthus angustifolius FAMILY Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Helianthus angustifolius
COMMON NAME:
Narrowleaf Sunflower, Swamp Sunflower
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_hean2_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_hean2_007_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm120922_097
September Greenville County SC
SC Native Plant Society Plant Sale
Ray flowers 8-21, narrow; disk purple, flattened, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
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JK Marlow jkm120922_101
September Greenville County SC
SC Native Plant Society Plant Sale
Leaves densely pubescent (but not tomentose) beneath, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
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JK Marlow jkm120922_103
September Greenville County SC
SC Native Plant Society Plant Sale
Involucral bracts in several series, lanceolate to linear, acuminate, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
COMPARE
involucral bracts of Sunflowers
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JK Marlow jkm081009_030
October Dorchester County SC
Leaves narrow, sessile, w rough surfaces & revolute (curled under) margins, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006).
)
JK Marlow jkm081009_031
October Dorchester County SC
Heads on long stalks, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm081009_173
October Dorchester County SC
McAlhany Nature Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm081009_177
October Dorchester County SC
McAlhany Nature Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm081009_178
October Dorchester County SC
McAlhany Nature Preserve
Plants 3-6' tall with a purplish to greenish herbaceous stem, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006).
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JK Marlow jkm161001_822
September Chesterfield County SC
Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge
)
JK Marlow jkm161001_831
September Chesterfield County SC
Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge
)
JK Marlow jkm161001_832
September Chesterfield County SC
Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge
)
JK Marlow jkm231025_6318
October Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_h_angustifolius_3
October
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_h_angustifolius_9
October
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Helianthus angustifolius
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Helianthus angustifolius
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21
Helianthus angustifolius
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-65-002:
Helianthus angustifolius
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Helianthus angustifolius
644
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: pine savannas, ditches, marshes, other wet habitats, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in GA, in Coastal Plain, & in SC Piedmont (rare in NC Mountains, uncommon elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Lower opposite, upper alternate
RHIZOMES? STOLONS?
Rhizomes absent or poorly developed
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Rays: Yellow
Disc: Purplish-red
Inferior ovary
Disc flowers bisexual & fertile/ Ray flowers pistillate but sterile
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Brown
Achene
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999) p169
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006) p174
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p094
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p168
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p134
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p268
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p386
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p366
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p157
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p279
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p122
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p272
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p086
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p301
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p350
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p191
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p323
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