Prairie sunflower (Helianthus petiolaris)

Corey L. Gucker; Nancy L. Shaw

Treesearch

Prairie sunflower (Helianthus petiolaris)

Informally Refereed

Authors:

Corey L. Gucker, Nancy L. Shaw

Year:

2026

Type:

Guidebooks

Station:

Rocky Mountain Research Station

Source:

Reno, NV: Great Basin Fire Science Exchange

Download (PDF 1.60 MB)

Download (PDF 1.60 MB): https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/81258.pdf

Abstract

Prairie sunflower is considered native to western NorthAmerica but now occurs nearly throughout the US andCanada, although “efforts to delimit [its] naturalboundaries before the appearance of man and subsequentspread as a weed meet with little success” (Heiser 1947). Subspecies petiolaris occurs nearly throughout theconterminous United States and in British Columbia,Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario, Canada(Schilling 2006; MacKinnon et al. 2014). Subspecies fallax occurs in Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Arizona (Schilling2006).

Keywords

Prairie sunflower, Helianthus petiolaris, native plants, native seed production, plant ecology, restoration, revegetation, seed technology, seeding, wildflowers

Citation

Gucker, Corey L.; Shaw, Nancy L. 2026. Prairie sunflower (Helianthus petiolaris). In: Gucker, C.L.; Shaw, N.L., eds. Western forbs: Biology, ecology, and use in restoration. Reno, NV: Great Basin Fire Science Exchange. Online: https://westernforbs.org/species/prairie-sunflower-helianthus-petiolaris/.