Helianthus L.
sunflowers · Asteraceae
- Accepted name
- Helianthus L.
- First published
- Sp. Pl.: 904 (1753)
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Accepted species
- 68 (including 12 natural hybrids)
- Native range
- 63 TDWG regions, North America (the cut-flower sunflower is native to the south-western United States and Mexico)
- Common names
- sunflowers
- Databases
- POWO · IPNI · WCVP · Catalogue of Life · GBIF
Overview
Helianthus belongs to the daisy family, Asteraceae; Kew gives the native range of the genus as North America. The name combines the Greek words for sun and flower, referring to the large flower heads and their habit of facing the sun (Flora of Iraq).
The florist’s sunflower is the annual Helianthus annuus. WCVP records it as native to the south-western United States (Arizona, California, Nevada) and Mexico, and introduced everywhere else it is grown. Its relative H. tuberosus, the Jerusalem artichoke, is a widely cultivated tuber crop (Flora of Somalia).
Classification and characters
Linnaeus published the genus in Species Plantarum in 1753. Its members are tall annual or perennial herbs, with the lower leaves opposite and the upper ones often alternate. A “sunflower” is a flower head: the outer ray florets are sterile with yellow rays, the central disc florets are bisexual, tubular and five-lobed; the receptacle bears scales and the involucre has two to four rows of phyllaries. The achenes are somewhat flattened, with a pappus of two early-falling awns or scales (Flora of Somalia, Flora of Iraq).
Older regional floras give “about 50 species”; the number WCVP accepts today is in the table below and includes several natural hybrids.
| Genus name | Published in |
|---|---|
| Discomela Raf. | Neogenyton: 3 (1825) |
| Echinomeria Nutt. | Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n.s., 7: 356 (1840) |
| Fascicularia Lilja | Skanes Fl. Vilda Odlade: 917 (1870) |
| Harpalium (Cass.) Cass. | G.-F.Cuvier, Dict. Sci. Nat., ed. 2. 38: 17 (1825) |
| Helianthemum Gray | Nat. Arr. Brit. Pl. 2: 445 (1821) |
| Leighia Cass. | G.-F.Cuvier, Dict. Sci. Nat., ed. 2. 25: 435 (1822) |
| Lincecumia Buckley | Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 13: 458 (1861 publ. 1862) |
| Neactelis Raf. | New Fl. 4: 69 (1838) |
Distribution
WCVP records the genus as native to 63 TDWG botanical regions and introduced in 139 more.
Native regions (63)
AlabamaAlbertaArizonaArkansasBritish ColumbiaCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineManitobaMarylandMassachusettsMexico CentralMexico NortheastMexico NorthwestMexico SouthwestMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew BrunswickNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNewfoundlandNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaNova ScotiaOhioOklahomaOntarioOregonPennsylvaniaPrince Edward I.QuébecRhode I.SaskatchewanSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming
Introduced
Introduced regions (139)
AlaskaAlbaniaAltayAmurArgentina NortheastArgentina NorthwestArgentina SouthAssamAustriaAzoresBahamasBalearesBaltic StatesBangladeshBelarusBelgiumBelizeBoliviaBotswanaBulgariaBuryatiyaCanary Is.Cape ProvincesCaprivi StripCentral European RussiaChile CentralChile NorthChile SouthChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChina SoutheastChitaColombiaCorseCosta RicaCubaCyprusCzechia-SlovakiaDenmarkDominican RepublicEast Aegean Is.East European RussiaEast HimalayaEl SalvadorEswatiniFijiFinlandFranceFree StateGermanyGreat BritainGreeceGuatemalaHainanHaitiHondurasHungaryIndiaInner MongoliaIrelandIrkutskItalyJapanJawaKamchatkaKazakhstanKhabarovskKirgizstanKoreaKrasnoyarskKrymKwaZulu-NatalLaosLebanon-SyriaLesothoLibyaMadeiraMagadanManchuriaMexico GulfMexico SoutheastMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNepalNetherlandsNew South WalesNew Zealand NorthNew Zealand SouthNiueNorth CaucasusNorth European RussiaNorthern ProvincesNorthern TerritoryNorthwest TerritoriesNorwayNunavutNW. Balkan Pen.PakistanPalestineParaguayPeruPolandPortugalPrimoryeQinghaiQueenslandRomaniaSakhalinSardegnaSiciliaSouth AustraliaSouth European RussiaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandTadzhikistanTaiwanTasmaniaThailandTibetTranscaucasusTrinidad-TobagoTunisiaTürkiyeTürkiye-in-EuropeTurkmenistanTuvaUkraineUruguayUzbekistanVictoriaVietnamWest HimalayaWest SiberiaWestern AustraliaXinjiangYakutiya
Accepted species
WCVP accepts 68 species; names with × are natural hybrids. The count changes with revisions; checked 2026-10-24.
| Name | On this site |
|---|---|
| Helianthus agrestis Pollard | |
| Helianthus × alexidis B.Boivin | |
| Helianthus × ambiguus (Torr. & A.Gray) Britton | |
| Helianthus angustifolius L. | |
| Helianthus annuus L. | 1 plate |
| Helianthus anomalus S.F.Blake | |
| Helianthus argophyllus Torr. & A.Gray | 1 plate |
| Helianthus arizonensis R.C.Jacks. | |
| Helianthus atrorubens L. | |
| Helianthus bolanderi A.Gray | |
| Helianthus × brevifolius E.Watson | |
| Helianthus californicus DC. | |
| Helianthus carnosus Small | |
| Helianthus ciliaris DC. | |
| Helianthus × cinereus Torr. & A.Gray | |
| Helianthus cusickii A.Gray | |
| Helianthus debilis Nutt. | |
| Helianthus decapetalus L. | 1 plate |
| Helianthus deserticola Heiser | |
| Helianthus devernii T.M.Draper | |
| Helianthus dissectifolius R.C.Jacks. | |
| Helianthus divaricatus L. | |
| Helianthus × divariserratus R.W.Long | |
| Helianthus × doronicoides Lam. | |
| Helianthus eggertii Small | |
| Helianthus exilis A.Gray | |
| Helianthus floridanus A.Gray ex Chapm. | |
| Helianthus giganteus L. | |
| Helianthus glaucophyllus D.M.Sm. | |
| Helianthus × glaucus Small | |
| Helianthus gracilentus A.Gray | |
| Helianthus grosseserratus M.Martens | |
| Helianthus heterophyllus Nutt. | |
| Helianthus hirsutus Raf. | |
| Helianthus inexpectatus D.J.Keil & Elvin | |
| Helianthus × intermedius R.W.Long | |
| Helianthus × kellermanii Britton | |
| Helianthus laciniatus A.Gray | |
| Helianthus × laetiflorus Pers. | |
| Helianthus laevigatus Torr. & A.Gray | |
| Helianthus longifolius Pursh | |
| Helianthus × luxurians E.Watson | |
| Helianthus maximiliani Schrad. | |
| Helianthus microcephalus Torr. & A.Gray | |
| Helianthus mollis Buc'hoz | |
| Helianthus × multiflorus L. | |
| Helianthus neglectus Heiser | |
| Helianthus niveus (Benth.) Brandegee | |
| Helianthus nuttallii Torr. & A.Gray | |
| Helianthus occidentalis Riddell | |
| Helianthus paradoxus Heiser | |
| Helianthus pauciflorus Nutt. | |
| Helianthus petiolaris Nutt. | |
| Helianthus porteri (A.Gray) Pruski | |
| Helianthus praecox Engelm. & A.Gray | |
| Helianthus pumilus Nutt. | |
| Helianthus radula (Pursh) Torr. & A.Gray | |
| Helianthus resinosus Small | |
| Helianthus salicifolius A.Dietr. | |
| Helianthus schweinitzii Torr. & A.Gray | |
| Helianthus silphioides Nutt. | |
| Helianthus simulans E.Watson | |
| Helianthus smithiorum Heiser | |
| Helianthus strumosus L. | |
| Helianthus tuberosus L. | |
| Helianthus verticillatus Small | |
| Helianthus waccamawensis Ungberg | |
| Helianthus winteri J.C.Stebbins |
Historic plates
Plates in date order; the printed names are kept as they appear, current names are on the species pages and the topic page.
Flos Solis maior
Hortus Eystettensis · Classis Aestiva, Fol. 70 · 1640
Helianthus decapetalus
Curtis's Botanical Magazine · 3510 · 1836
Joseph Swan
Helianthus argophyllus
Favourite Flowers of Garden and Greenhouse · Pl. 139 · 1897
Cut-flower harvest and handling
Floralife advises harvesting once the ray florets have unfolded, storing at 1–3 °C and 75–85% relative humidity, and expecting 5–14 days in the vase. Sunflowers drink a lot: keep floral foam well soaked or they wilt, and do not handle them by the head, which creases and bruises the rays. Remove the nets before processing.
Sensitivity to ethylene is moderate and varies by variety; exposure makes the ray florets drop. Sunflowers are phototropic, so the neck bends towards the light; correct temperatures in transport and storage, clean buckets and proper hydration reduce this. Yellowing leaves can come from the wrong harvest stage, growing problems or poor storage, so avoid stems with yellow or dried leaves.