Flora of North America species comparison

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Helianthus pumilus

little sunflower
Habit Perennials, 30–100 cm (taproots slightly thickened).
Stems

erect, hispid or strigose.
Leaves

cauline; opposite;

petioles 0.4–3 cm;

blades (ashy green, usually 3-nerved from bases) lanceolate to ovate, 4–15 × 1–5 cm, bases ± cuneate to truncate, margins entire or serrate, faces strigoso-hispid, gland-dotted.
Peduncles

0.5–5.5 cm.
Involucres

cylindric, 7–14 mm diam.
Ray florets

8–13;

laminae 15–20 mm (abaxial faces gland-dotted).
Disc florets

30+: corollas 5–6 mm, lobes yellow;

anthers dark brown to black, appendages dark.
Phyllaries

15–25 (loosely appressed), lanceolate to ovate, 3.5–7.5 × 2–3.5 mm, apices acute to acuminate, abaxial faces ± hispid or strigose (hairs whitish), gland-dotted.
Heads

1–6.
Cypselae

3–4 mm, sparsely hairy;

pappi of 2 aristate scales 4–4.5 mm plus 0–4 deltate scales 0.5–1 mm.
Paleae

7–8 mm, entire or ± 3-toothed (apices acute to acuminate, hispid).
2n

= 34.

Helianthus pumilus
Phenology Flowering late summer.
Habitat Dry, rocky soil in open areas
Elevation 1200–2700 m (3900–8900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CO; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Source FNA vol. 21, p. 168.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Heliantheae > subtribe Helianthinae > Helianthus
Sibling taxa
H. agrestis, H. angustifolius, H. annuus, H. anomalus, H. argophyllus, H. arizonensis, H. atrorubens, H. bolanderi, H. californicus, H. carnosus, H. ciliaris, H. cusickii, H. debilis, H. decapetalus, H. deserticola, H. divaricatus, H. eggertii, H. exilis, H. floridanus, H. giganteus, H. glaucophyllus, H. gracilentus, H. grosseserratus, H. heterophyllus, H. hirsutus, H. laciniatus, H. laevigatus, H. longifolius, H. maximiliani, H. microcephalus, H. mollis, H. neglectus, H. niveus, H. nuttallii, H. occidentalis, H. paradoxus, H. pauciflorus, H. petiolaris, H. porteri, H. praecox, H. radula, H. resinosus, H. salicifolius, H. schweinitzii, H. silphioides, H. simulans, H. smithii, H. strumosus, H. tuberosus, H. verticillatus, H. ×laetiflorus
Name authority Nuttall: Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n. s. 7: 366. (1841)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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