Seasonal Wild Flowers

Annual Sunflower

Helianthus annuus

Asteraceae

August to October

It is scattered throughout the country but is less common in

the North.

For a map see the National Biodiversity Network Gateway

It is a neophyte which has been grown in the UK since the 1590s

in gardens and allotments and in fields as a crop. It has been

known in the wild since the early 1900s.

It grows as an escape on waste ground, rubbish tips and by roads.

Annual Sunflower is a tall, eye-catching annual, growing up to 3m

Flowerheads can reach 30cm across.

Outer florets are golden yellow, and disc florets brown,

Sepals are large, dark green and pointed.

Leaves are heart-shaped, and up to 40cm.

Stems and leaves are roughly hairy.

It is grown as a crop for the oil-bearing seeds.

As an escape or casual, it is on the increase.

Annual Sunflowers, Dorset

Escape, Lune earth dyke, Lancaster

Sunflower - ray and disc florets

Side view

Sepals

Leaves

Seed head

Close-up of seeds