Helianthus maximiliani
{{Short description|Species of sunflower}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Helianthus maximiliani NPS-1.jpg
|image_caption = Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota
|status = LC
|status_system = IUCN3.1
|status_ref =
|status2 = {{TNCStatus}}
|status2_system = TNC
|status2_ref =
|genus = Helianthus
|species = maximiliani
|authority = Schrad.
|synonyms_ref = {{ThePlantList |id=gcc-31619 |taxon=Helianthus maximiliani}}
|synonyms = *Helianthus dalyi Britton
- Helianthus maximilianii Schrad.
}}
Helianthus maximiliani is a North American species of sunflower known by the common name Maximilian sunflower.
This sunflower is named for Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied, who encountered it on his travels in North America.
Helianthus maximiliani is native to the Great Plains in central North America, and naturalized in the eastern and western parts of the continent. It is now found from British Columbia to Maine, south to the Carolinas, Chihuahua, and California. The plant thrives in a number of ecosystems, particularly across the plains in central Canada and the United States. It is also cultivated as an ornamental.{{cite book|author=Anthony W. Kahtz|title=Perennials for Midwestern Gardens: Proven Plants for the Heartland|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JJxCjmZhq1EC&pg=PT55|access-date=29 November 2010|date=17 April 2008|publisher=Timber Press|isbn=978-0-88192-893-8|pages=55–}}{{BONAP|ref |genus=Helianthus |species=maximiliani}}
Description
A branching perennial herb, growing from a stout rhizome and reaches heights from {{cvt|0.5-3.0|m|ft|frac=2}}. The rough, slender, tall, erect stems and alternately arranged leaves are covered in rough hairs.{{eFloras|1|250066889|Helianthus maximiliani |tribe=Heliantheae |first=Edward E. |last=Schilling}}
The lance-shaped leaves are narrow, rough, pointed, and folded down the midvein, and up to {{cvt|30|cm|in|0}} long on large plants.
The flower heads are surrounded at the base by pointed green phyllaries which often stick straight out and curl at the tips. The center is filled with yellow tipped brown disc florets and the circumference is lined with bright yellow ray florets {{cvt|2-4|cm|in|frac=2}} long. The flowers give an odor similar to chocolate.
The plant reproduces by seed and by vegetative sprouting from the rhizome.
Uses
The thick rhizome is edible and provided a food similar to the Jerusalem artichoke for Native American groups such as the Sioux. The flower heads are attractive to insects and the fruits are eaten by birds.{{cn|date=November 2019}} Livestock eat portions of the plant, and the seeds are eaten by various wildlife.{{cite book |last1=Niering |first1=William A. |authorlink1=William Niering| last2=Olmstead |first2=Nancy C. |title=The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region |year=1985 |orig-year=1979|publisher=Knopf |isbn=0-394-50432-1 |page=385}}
The Land Institute, a perennial agriculture research center located in Salina, Kansas, run by Wes Jackson is experimenting with this species to create a perennial oilseed grain crop that does not necessitate replanting each season.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?609,1308,1315 Jepson Manual Treatment]
- [http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=HEMA2 United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile]
- [http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/forb/helmax/all.html United States Department of Agriculture, National Forest Service Ecology]
- [http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/plants/wildflwr/species/helimaxi.htm United States Geologic Survey, Northern Prairie Wildflowers]
- [http://www.sbs.utexas.edu/bio406d/images/pics/ast/helianthus_maximiliani.htm Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas, Photo gallery]
- [https://archive.today/20130616000123/http://www.landinstitute.org/vnews/display.v/ART/2013/04/22/51754aaa4afd1 Land Institute]
- [http://www.tropicos.org/ImageFullView.aspx?imageid=100328179 Photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in Missouri in 1951, neotype for Helianthus maximiliani] neotype designated in Heiser, C. B. 1966. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3): 154(157).
{{Taxonbar|from=Q5704865}}
Category:Plants used in Native American cuisine