Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Section: Common Name: Scientific Name: Family:
Account for Fewleaf Sunflower - Helianthus occidentalis ssp. occidentalis   Riddell
Members of Asteraceae:
Members of Helianthus with account distribution info or public map:
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Section 6 » Order Asterales » Family Asteraceae
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AuthorRiddell
DistributionMountains only. Specimens are known from 2 counties: Buncombe County -- "banks of the French Broad River near Biltmore", and Macon County -- "near Franklin" and "roadside, 7 miles north of Franklin." A specimen from Burke County is from the South Mountains; its identification needs checking at DUKE. The editors consider this last location to probably be outside the native range. A specimen at PH is actually H. atrorubens from "Salem, NC". In 2024, Ryan Schiller photographed a population of the dowelianus taxon in Macon County, as seen in photos on Facebook Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern States.

MD to MN, south to northern GA and TX; disjunct to panhandle of FL.
AbundanceFormerly long historical in NC, such that the NCNHP has considered it as extirpated (SX). It is State-listed as Special Concern - Historical. However, as the last Macon County specimens were collected in 1976, and as the normal range extends eastward into eastern TN, the State Rank should be listed as SH (historical) rather than SX (extirpated, with little likelihood of being re-discovered). Now with the apparently correct identification in 2024, the website editors for now recommend a State Rank of S1.
HabitatRiverside scour zone, open roadside. This is primarily a Midwestern "prairie plant", though it can occur in damp ground, such as along open riversides. However, the 2024 Macon County population habitat was "Dry sunny roadside".
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting July-October.
IdentificationPlants typically grow 2-4 feet tall, from rhizomes. Basal and lower leaves are broadly ovate and taper to a long leafstalk; the leaf margins are bluntly toothed. Middle and upper stem leaves are smaller and narrower. There usually are a few to several heads. The quite long leafstalks on the basal leaves are an important field character, along with the very few and quite small stem leaves.
Taxonomic CommentsA synonym is H. dowellianus M.A. Curtis, by some treated as a variety. Note that the taxon found in NC is the nominate variety.

Other Common Name(s)
State RankSX [S1]
Global RankG5T5
State StatusSC-H
US Status
USACE-agcp
USACE-emp
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B.A. SorriePhotographed in eastern Iowa. Photo_non_NCPhoto_non_NC
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