Seasonal Wild Flowers

Annual Sunflower

Helianthus annuus

Asteraceae

August to October

It is scattered throughout the country but is less common in

the North.

See the BSBI distribution map for Annual Sunflower

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