Ashy Sunflower
Ashy Sunflower, Downy Sunflower
Helianthus mollis Lam.
Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)
▲ ▼ mature, flowering plants
▲ ▼ head inflorescences
▲ ▼ head inflorescences showing green, triangular bracts below head
▲ ▼ hairy leaves and stems; leaves clasp part-way around stems
Helianthus mollis Lam., Ashy Sunflower, Downy Sunflower: (Bayer Code: none; US Code: none)
- U.S. native creeping perennial, rhizome-producing wildflower that grows 1.5-3 feet tall, with usually unbranched, gray-green stems; stems and leaves covered with soft gray to white hairs
- Leaves are opposite, lanceolate to elongated triangular, with no petioles; leaf bases sometimes clasp around stems; leaves usually spaced evenly on upright stems
- Head inflorescences are 2-4 inches in diameter, produced at stem tips, with 17-22 yellow ray florets (“petals") that are puckered where they join the head, and 75 or more yellow disk florets
- Bracts below the head are in overlapping rows, lanceolate, with tapering, pointed tips; bract tips stand out from base of head
- Flowering from summer to early autumn
- Prefers full-sun, drier locations, such as rocky glades, prairies, pastures, right-of-ways
- The gray-pubescent stems and leaves and clasping leaves provide an easy way to identify this plant
Perennial sunflowers:
- Include Ashy Sunflower, Texas Blueweed, Maximilian Sunflower, Sawtooth Sunflower, Western Sunflower, Willowleaf Sunflower, Jerusalem Artichoke, and other species
- All are creeping perennial weeds that form rhizomes and/or creeping roots that allow them to spread to form colonies with maturity
- Most are palatable to livestock, except in fertile soils, where high nitrate accumulation may cause poisoning, but may be seen as weedy in reduced tillage crops
- Once established, these species can be hard to control, but most (not all) are not considered to be weedy
- Most produce relatively tall (4-8 feet tall or more), unbranched, leafy stems with linear, lanceolate to ovate/triangular, rough-textured leaves; upper stem portions are usually branched with the onset of flowering, so that each branch stem tip has a flower head
- Flowers for most perennial sunflowers quite similar (with some exceptions); they are in terminal clusters, flowering usually sometime from mid-summer to late autumn, with yellow ray flowers and yellow to brown disk flowers; total flower diameter is usually 2-4 inches
- Perennial sunflower “flowers" are usually smaller than annual sunflower “flowers," such as with Annual Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) or Prairie Sunflower (Helianthus petiolaris)
- Usually, it is more of the stem and leaf characteristics that are used to identify the different perennial sunflower species
- Most perennial sunflowers are native plants that usually do not cause harm in grazing or haying situations (maybe with the exception of Texas blueweed)
- Perennial sunflowers provide food and nectar for native insects (including bees and butterflies), birds and other animals, and generally should not be killed indiscriminately
- Maintaining proper grazing levels can often reduce their unwanted increase in pastures and rangeland
(Updated May 17, 2021)