Taxon: Helianthus annuus L.

Summary

Genus:

Helianthus

Family:

Asteraceae (alt. Compositae)

Subfamily:

Asteroideae

Tribe:

Heliantheae

Nomen number:

27923

Place of publication:

Sp. pl. 2:904. 1753

Protologue link:

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/358925

Typification:

View in Linnean Typification Project

Verified:

03/08/2010 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

4292 (3806 active, 3575 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Autonym(s)
Helianthus annuus L. subsp. annuus
Helianthus annuus L. var. annuus

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Helianthus annuus L. subsp. jaegeri (Heiser) Heiser
Helianthus annuus L. subsp. lenticularis (Douglas) Cockerell
Helianthus annuus L. subsp. texanus Heiser
Helianthus annuus L. unranked lenticularis (Douglas) Cockerell
Helianthus annuus L. var. macrocarpus (DC.) Cockerell
Helianthus jaegeri Heiser
Helianthus lenticularis Douglas

Images (8 total. Click on image for more.)

Links

Forestry Images – from www.forestryimages.org
Fruits – Seed ID Workshop image, from Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, Ohio State University
Fruits – Seed ID Workshop image, from Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, Ohio State University

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Burkart, A. E., ed. 1969-. Flora ilustrada de Entre Rios.
Cooper, M. R. & A. W. Johnson. 1998. Poisonous plants and fungi in Britain: animal and human poisoning
Cronquist, A. et al. 1972-. Intermountain flora.
Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 252-253.
Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
Encke, F. et al. 1993. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 14. Auflage
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
Gleason, H. A. & A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, ed. 2
Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
Hickman, J. C., ed. 1993. The Jepson manual: higher plants of California
Horn, R. 2002. Molecular diversity of male sterility inducing and male-fertile cytoplasms in the genus Helianthus. Theor. Appl. Genet. 104:562-570.
International Energy Agency. 2004. Biofuels for transport: an international perspective. Oklahoma invasive Plant database 1-216.
International Seed Testing Association. 1982. A Multilingual Glossary of Common Plant-Names 1. Field crops, grasses and vegetables, ed. 2.
Kane, N. C. et al. 2009. Comparative genomic and population genetic analyses indicate highly porous genomes and high levels of gene flow between divergent Helianthus species. Evolution 63:2061-2075.
Kartesz, J. T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland.
Lee, Y. N. 1997. Flora of Korea.
Magee, D. W. & H. E. Ahles. 1999. Flora of the Northeast. A manual of the vascular flora of New England and adjacent New York.
Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Mun-Chan, B. et al. 1986. A checklist of the Korean cultivated plants. Kulturpflanze 34:102.
Munro, D. B. Canadian poisonous plants information system (on-line resource).
Ohio Flora Committee (E. L. Braun, T. S. Cooperrider, T. R. Fisher, J. J. Furlow). 1967-. The vascular flora of Ohio.
Ortega-Sada, J. L. 1987. Flora de interes apicola y polinizacion de cultivos.
Personal Care Products Council. International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Radford, A. E. et al., eds. 1980-. Vascular flora of the southeastern United States.
Rehm, S. & G. Espig. 1991. The cultivated plants of the tropics and subtropics
Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Rogers, C. E. et al. 1982. Sunflower species of the United States 4-5.
Rosengarten, F. 1984. The book of edible nuts
Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol.
Seed Regulatory and Testing Division, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S.D.A. State noxious-weed seed requirements recognized in the administration of the Federal Seed Act (updated annually).
Snow, A. A. et al. 1998. Fecundity, phenology, and seed dormancy of F1 wild-crop hybrids in sunflower (Helianthus annuus, Asteraceae). Amer. J. Bot. 85:794-801.
Stipanovic, R. D. et al. 1980. Natural rubber from sunflower. J. Agric. Food Chem. 28:1322-1323.
Ureta, M. S. et al. 2008. Natural hybrids between cultivated and wild sunflowers (Helianthus spp.) in Argentina. Genet. Resources Crop Evol. 55:1267-1277.
Vibrans, H., ed. Malezas de México (on-line resource).
Voss, E. 1972-. Michigan flora.
Walker, E. 1976. Flora of Okinawa and the southern Ryukyu Islands.
Welsh, S. L. et al. 1993. A Utah flora.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture Note: food crop

Common names

Language	Name	note	seq	Citation
English	sunflower		1	Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
English (Canada)	sunflower	Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada official name	2	Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 252-253.
French	grand soleil		2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
French	tournesol		2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
French (Canada)	tournesol	Agriculture & Agroalimentaire Canada nom officiel	2	Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 252-253.
German	Sonnenblume		2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Italian	girasole		2	International Seed Testing Association. 1982. A Multilingual Glossary of Common Plant-Names 1. Field crops, grasses and vegetables, ed. 2.
Japanese Rōmaji	himawari		2	Walker, E. 1976. Flora of Okinawa and the southern Ryukyu Islands.
Portuguese	girassol		2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanish	girasol		2	Ortega-Sada, J. L. 1987. Flora de interes apicola y polinizacion de cultivos.
Swahili	alizeti		2	PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
Swedish	solros		2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Transcribed Korean	haebaragi		2	Mun-Chan, B. et al. 1986. A checklist of the Korean cultivated plants. Kulturpflanze 34:102.

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Illinois		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Iowa		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Kansas		Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Minnesota		Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Missouri		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Nebraska		Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	North Dakota		Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Oklahoma		Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	South Dakota		Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Wisconsin		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Connecticut		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Indiana		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Maine		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Massachusetts		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Michigan		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	New Hampshire		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	New Jersey		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	New York		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Ohio		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Pennsylvania		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Rhode Island		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Vermont		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	West Virginia		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Baja California (Norte)		Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Chihuahua		Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Coahuila de Zaragoza		Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Durango		Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Nuevo León		Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Sonora		Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Tamaulipas		Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
1	Native	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Colorado		Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
1	Native	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Idaho		Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
1	Native	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Montana		Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
1	Native	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Oregon		Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
1	Native	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Washington		Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
1	Native	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Wyoming		Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
1	Native	Northern America	South-Central U.S.A.	United States	New Mexico		Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
1	Native	Northern America	South-Central U.S.A.	United States	Texas		Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Alabama		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Arkansas		Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Delaware		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	District of Columbia		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Florida		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Georgia		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Kentucky		Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Louisiana		Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Maryland		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Mississippi		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	North Carolina		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	South Carolina		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Tennessee		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Virginia		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	Arizona		Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
1	Native	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	California		Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
1	Native	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	Nevada		Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
1	Native	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	Utah		Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
1	Native	Northern America	Western Canada	Canada	Alberta	s.	Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol.
1	Native	Northern America	Western Canada	Canada	British Columbia	s.	Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol.
1	Native	Northern America	Western Canada	Canada	Manitoba	s.	Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol.
1	Native	Northern America	Western Canada	Canada	Saskatchewan	s.	Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol.
2	Cultivated					widely cult.	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized					widely natzd., particularly in e. North America	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	New Brunswick		Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	Nova Scotia		Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	Ontario		Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	Prince Edward Island		Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	Québec		Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Subarctic America	Canada	Northwest Territories		Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol.

Native
Northern America

WESTERN CANADA: Canada [Alberta (s.), British Columbia (s.), Manitoba (s.), Saskatchewan (s.)]
NORTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia]
NORTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin]
NORTHWESTERN U.S.A.: United States [Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming]
SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia]
SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [New Mexico, Texas]
SOUTHWESTERN U.S.A.: United States [Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah]
NORTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Baja California (Norte), Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Durango, Nuevo León, Sonora, Tamaulipas]

Cultivated (widely cult.)
Naturalized

REGION:

Northern America

SUBARCTIC AMERICA: Canada [Northwest Territories]
EASTERN CANADA: Canada [New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Québec]

Reference(s)

FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Heiser, C. B., Jr. et al. 1969. The North American sunflowers (Helianthus). Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 22(3):61-68.
Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Animal food	fodder		Rehm, S. & G. Espig. 1991. The cultivated plants of the tropics and subtropics
Bee plants	honey production		Ortega-Sada, J. L. 1987. Flora de interes apicola y polinizacion de cultivos.
Environmental	ornamental		Encke, F. et al. 1993. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 14. Auflage
Fuels	petroleum substitute/alcohol	potential	International Energy Agency. 2004. Biofuels for transport: an international perspective. Oklahoma invasive Plant database 1-216.
Human food	oil/fat		PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
Human food	pseudocereal		PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
Human food	seeds		PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
Human food	starch		PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
Materials	fiber		PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
Materials	lipids		PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
Medicines	folklore		Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
Medicines	folklore		McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Vertebrate poisons	mammals		Cooper, M. R. & A. W. Johnson. 1998. Poisonous plants and fungi in Britain: animal and human poisoning
Weed	seed contaminant	potential	Seed Regulatory and Testing Division, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S.D.A. State noxious-weed seed requirements recognized in the administration of the Federal Seed Act (updated annually).

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=27923. Accessed 14 April 2026.