Fewleaf Sunflower

Helianthus occidentalis

"Helianthus occidentalis" is a species of sunflower native to the Eastern and Central United States. It grows mostly in the Great Lakes Region and in the Ozarks, with additional populations scattered as far as Massachusetts, Texas, and the Florida Panhandle.
Helianthus occidentalis subsp. occidentalis (Few-leaf Sunflower) In an old field. Helianthus occidentalis subsp. plantagineus has serrated, smooth leaves whereas this one has rough, toothless leaves. Asteraceae,Few-leaf Sunflower,Geotagged,Helianthus occidentalis,Summer,United States,bracts,sunflower

Appearance

"H. occidentalis" differs from other, similar species by its sparse leaves, most of which are crowded around the lower part of the stem. This perennial plant reaches heights from 2 to 5 ft. It produces one to several yellow flower heads, each with 8-14 ray florets surrounding more than 50 disc florets.
Helianthus occidentalis From Flora of North America (http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242416636) "Stems (often reddish) erect, pilose to appressed-hairy proximally." These plants are pillose. Technically these plants are Helianthus occidentalis Riddell subsp. occidentalis because "Leaves entire or nearly so, scabrous or hirsute, rough to touch." Geotagged,Helianthus occidentalis,Summer,United States

Naming

The word "occidentalis" means "western" in Latin. The plant was first described in 1836, when the Great Lakes Region was considered the western part of the United States.

;Subspecies
⤷ "H. o." subsp. "occidentalis" - most of species range
⤷ "H. o." subsp. "plantagineus" Shinners - Texas, Arkansas

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

Taxonomy
KingdomPlantae
DivisionAngiosperms
ClassEudicots
OrderAsterales
FamilyAsteraceae
GenusHelianthus
SpeciesH. occidentalis
Photographed in
United States of America