Asteraceae : Helianthus maximilianii

Helianthus maximiliani is a perennial herb growing from a stout, rhizomatous root. The generally unbranched stems occur singly or in loose clusters, growing from 0.5 m to 2.5 m tall, light green to purplish in color and covered with short, dense white hairs. The simple, mostly alternate leaves are lanceolate 7-30 cm long and 1-5 cm wide, very pointed and folded upward from the central vein, with slightly wavy entire to toothed margins. The leaf surfaces are covered with coarse white hairs. The inflorescence contains few to many heads, 2.5-7 cm in diameter, on peduncles that emerge from the leaf axils. Each head has an involucre of several series of bracts that exceed the disk, 15 to 25 yellow ray flowers, the ligules up to 4 cm long, and numerous greenish yellow to dark brown disc flowers. The fruit are achenes 3-4 mm long. Flowering occurs from August into October. Maximilian sunflowers occur on damp and open prairies, in waste grounds, often in sandy soils, throughout South Dakota.