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Helianthus radula
Rayless Sunflower
Stiff Sunflower
Florida native
A frequent plant of wet flatwoods throughout much of the panhandle, the north and central peninsula, plus Collier County. The range includes the southeastern coastal states from Louisiana to South Carolina.
The distinctive brown-purple disk floret on a stem typically a meter (39 in.) or more tall, usually has no ray florets, or if it does, they are typically few in number, small and yellow. Well developed basal leaves. hairy and rough in rosettes, lower stem leaves are opposite and elliptic to ovate, greatly reduced above, with the upper stem leafless.
The tiny spider in several of the photos is one of the Mecaphesa species and are called either flower spiders or crab spiders.
Helianthus radula is a member of the Asteraceae - Aster family.
Other species of the Helianthus genus in the Wild Florida Photo database:
Helianthus agrestis - SOUTHEASTERN SUNFLOWER
Helianthus angustifolius - NARROWLEAF SUNFLOWER
Helianthus debilis var. debilis - EAST COAST DUNE SUNFLOWER
Helianthus debilis var. vestitus - WEST COAST DUNE SUNFLOWER
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Sep 25, 2020
