Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Asterales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Helianthus mollis
FAMILY
Asteraceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Downy Sunflower at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Helianthus mollis
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21 (2006)
Helianthus mollis
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-65-010:
Helianthus mollis FAMILY Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Helianthus mollis
COMMON NAME:
Downy Sunflower, Ashy Sunflower, Gray Sunflower
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_hemo2_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm090808_003
August Floyd County GA
In cultivation
Leaves densely soft-pubescent, base wide clasping, rounded to slightly cordate, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm090808_010
August Floyd County GA
In cultivation
Involucral bracts lanceolate, acuminate, the tips often reflexed, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
COMPARE
involucral bracts of Sunflowers
)
JK Marlow jkm160915_121
September Beaufort County SC
Spring Island Native Plant Nursery
Adventive in eastern US (Maine), where continuing to spread, esp along roads, per Flora of North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm160915_122
September Beaufort County SC
Spring Island Native Plant Nursery
Leaves sessile and cordate, mostly or all opposite, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
)
JK Marlow jkm160915_123
September Beaufort County SC
Spring Island Native Plant Nursery
Leaf blades ashy or gray-green, 3-nerved distal to bases, per Flora of North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm160915_124
September Beaufort County SC
Spring Island Native Plant Nursery
Stems erect, hirsute to villous, per Flora of North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm160915_125
September Beaufort County SC
Spring Island Native Plant Nursery
Leaf blades lanceolate to broadly ovate, per Flora of North America.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Helianthus mollis
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Helianthus mollis
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21
Helianthus mollis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-65-010:
Helianthus mollis
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Helianthus mollis
2035
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: calcareous prairies and barrens, disturbed places, per Weakley's Flora
Native to Georgia & westward
Rare
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Opposite
Leaves sessile
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Rays: Yellow
Disc: Yellow
Inferior ovary
Disc flowers bisexual & fertile/ Ray flowers pistillate but sterile
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Black
Achene
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p135
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p304
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p353
- 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".