SimplePlant

Asteraceae

Prairie sunflower

Helianthus petiolaris Nutt.

Family
Asteraceae
Genus
Helianthus

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Prairie sunflower: The leaves of H. petiolaris on average tend to be smaller and and not so widely lanceolate as those of H. annuus.
Photo: Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons

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Common names

By language (4)
Chinese
草原向日葵
English
Prairie sunflower, Lesser sunflower
Finnish
Pikkuauringonkukka
Welsh
Blodyn-yr-haul bach

Synonyms

  • Helianthus annuus subsp. petiolaris (Nutt.) Anashch.
  • Helianthus integrifolius Nutt.
  • Helianthus integrifolius var. gracilis Nutt.
  • Helianthus integrifolius var. integrifolius
  • Helianthus patens Lehm.
  • Helianthus petiolaris var. patens Rydb.
  • Helianthus petiolaris var. petiolaris

Characteristics

Growth habit
Forb/herb
Lifespan
Annual
In the US and Canada
Canada: native, Lower 48 states: native

Photos

More in Helianthus

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.