Common Sunflowers at Sunset

A sunset at about 3000m in the mountains between Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA

comments (8)

WildFlower

Lion

Are you sure about the species? It's really hard to tell from this photo, but the flowers look rather loose, not being part of a compact shrub.
http://www.worldbotanical.com/encelia.htm
http://www.fireflyforest.com/flowers/1036/encelia-farinosa-brittlebush/
http://www.natureathand.com/Main/Gallery/Encelia_farinosa_57712.htm Posted 10 years ago
1. Stephen Philips
  
  Lion
  
  wildflower,
  
  here is the best illuminated picture i have of the same field of flowers (http://www.jungledragon.com/image/30305/brittlebrush_flower-2.html). i have seen this in both dense bush and sporadic. fireflyforest link above even shows this in less dense grouping (last picture with dog). thx! Posted 10 years ago, modified 10 years ago
2. 1. Stephen Philips
    
    Lion
    
    I am leaving this identified as a common sunflower. Stem and leaf identification certainly assisted me on this one. http://www.nazflora.org/Helianthus_annuus.htm Posted 10 years ago
  2. 1. WildFlower
      
      Lion
      
      I usually avoid yellow asters because identifying them is a nightmare. It could be anything. You have deleted the other photo and this one doesn't show much of the plant. I haven't seen any wild sunflowers and the cultivated ones are much bigger, however your reference shows that they still have several larger leaves at the base. Do these plants have such leaves? Posted 10 years ago
    2. 1. Stephen Philips
        
        Lion
        
        New image is posted.
        Here is another credible source which also has a field of sunflowers to compare. Tithonia thurberii referenced from http://www.aznps.com/#!# Arizona Native Plant Society. #!#http://www.aznps.com/chapters/images/BarfootPark-2copy.jpg
        The wild sunflowers I have seen around here are smaller than those normally seen in arrangements or on display. The leaves (dark green) do get larger the further down the stalk you look and are very large at the base. These are also very scattered at the base and not a bush.
        http://www.jungledragon.com/image/30345 Posted 10 years ago, modified 10 years ago
      2. Stephen Philips
        
        Lion
        
        For some reason the second link did not copy correctly... Sorry!
        
        http://www.aznps.com/chapters/images/BarfootPark-2copy.jpg
        Posted 10 years ago
        
        WildFlower
        
        Lion
        
        Sorry, Stephen, the photo from the link is a nice flower field, but it cannot be a reference for identification. From the same site I was redirected to some species lists. I checked a few species which have similar flowers and these photos show one of the characters you should be looking for to identify the species.
        http://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/imagelib/imgdetails.php?imgid=19532
        http://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/imagelib/imgdetails.php?imgid=19555
        http://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/imagelib/imgdetails.php?imgid=19566
        http://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/imagelib/imgdetails.php?imgid=19596
        
        I think this one should rather be left unidentified because both photos are lacking the details required for a reliable identification. Posted 10 years ago
        
        Stephen Philips
        
        Lion
        
        Ok thanks for working on a potential identification. Much appreciated!
        
        Steve Posted 10 years ago

No species on this photo

It has been indicated that there is no species on this photo.

By Stephen Philips

Uploaded May 21, 2015.

country flag of United States of America

Explore United States of America 39,960 9,642 8