Plant of the Month Pages
| Common Name(s): | Slender Sunflower |
| Scientific Name: | Helianthus gracilentus |
| Family: | Asteraceae (Sunflower) |
| Plant Type: | Perennial |
| Size: | up to 6 feet high |
| Habitat: | Chaparral, fields, dry slopes, roadsides |
| Blooms: | May to October |
| Fire Response: | Stump Sprout or Seed |
Slender Sunflower blooms throughout summer, brightening the typically dry landscape of this time with its showy yellow flowers. It is similar in appearance to Common Sunflower, but smaller and less full.
The flowers are solitary on long stems, up to 3 inches in diameter with yellow ray flowers and in the center, yellow to red-purple disk flowers. The flowers can be found in bloom from May to October. Leaves are lance-shaped, rough and hairy, and 1 to 5 inches long. The plant has an erect and shrubby appearance.
Link to Calfora.net - the best source of this fascinating information.
Name Origin: The genus name Helianthus is from two Greek words meaning "sun" and "flower". The species name gracilentus means "slender".
Contributed by George Sherman
Aster diagram provided by Jenn Deutscher
Link to the artist's website
