North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Helianthus atrorubens

Helianthus atrorubens L.

purpledisk sunflower, appalachian sunflower

Synonym(s): Helianthus atrorubens var. alsodes

Helianthus atrorubens (Purpledisk Sunflower)

Image ID: 14769
Image by: Sorrie, Bruce A.
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: HEAT
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Helianthus atrorubens
Include in WOTAS: 1
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2019-01-23

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: HELIA3
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Helianthus
GENUS AUTHORITY: L.
GENUS COMMON: Sunflower
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of about 50 species, herbs, of North America.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Schilling in FNA (2006c); Heiser et al. (1969); Cronquist (1980)=SE; Schilling et al. (1998). Key adapted from FNA, SE, RAB, and Heiser et al. (1969).

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: ASTERA
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Asteraceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: Dumortier 1822 or COMPOSITAE Giseke 1792
FAMILY COMMON: Aster Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of about 1500-1700 genera and 20,000-25,000 species, shrubs, herbs, trees, and vines, cosmopolitan in distribution.
FAMILY REFERENCE: Cronquist (1980)=SE throughout family treatment.

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO: Erect, rhizomatous perennial found in dry soils of rocky, sandy or clayey woodlands, pine savannas and road banks.
STEMS: Stems simple to few-branched, rough-hairy near the base and with softer hairs toward the tip.
LEAVES: Leaves mostly basal or on lower stems, opposite, on broadly winged petioles, oval to diamond-shaped, 2-8 in. long, toothed or scalloped and rough; middle to upper stem leaves similar but fewer and smaller.
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS: Composite flowers (heads) in small clusters; heads to 3 in. wide, consisting of 10-15 yellow ray florets encircling a center disk of dark purple tubular florets; overlapping oval or oblong bracts surround the base of each head.
FRUITS: Fruit a dark brown, sparsely bristled, narrowly oval achene.
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT: 2 1/2-6 1/2 ft.

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Herb

LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Opposite
LEAF COMPLEXITY: Simple
LEAF RETENTION:

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY: Mixed
BLOOM TIME: Late Jul-Oct

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
						x	x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR: Yellow

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
				x				x

FRUITING PERIOD:

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE: Dry forests, Pine savannas
NATIVE RANGE: southeastern United States

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: This Southeast native sunflower may not boast the large heads and seeds of more familiar cultivated sunflowers, but it is a tough perennial with a cheerful disposition. Commonly found in dry woodlands and growing on roadbanks, this plant is tolerant of dauntingly dry sandy, rocky, or clay soil conditions once established. This plant will be quite at home in a meadow garden or roadside planting and is also a nice plant for beds and borders. The seeds of sunflowers are a great food source for birds.

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 6
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 9
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE: Bee Friendly, Butterfly Friendly, Bird Friendly
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
290	2011-0151	2011-06-16	295	View
2454	1986-2295			View
4401	1992-0557			View
4755	1993-0032			View
9428	2021-0091	2021-06-29		View

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
295	HORT	2009-01-01	NCBG staff	View
1317	HORT	2006-10-11	Bryan	View
1699	HORT	2005-01-01	Heiney	View
1806	HORT	2006-10-01	Bryan	View
1830	HORT	2006-10-01	Bryan	View
2066	NPMD	2020-10-22	Summer	View
2098	NPMD	2020-10-22	Summer	View
2283	NPMD	2019-10-14	Touloupas	View
2286	NPMD	2019-10-14	Touloupas	View
2369	NPMD	2019-11-21	Touloupas	View
2724	NPMD	2022-11-13	Kunz	View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
681	290	21	NCBG staff	2011-04-08	View
4165	2454	27	NCBG staff	1986-12-31	View
6729	4401	200	NCBG staff	1993-03-01	View
7097	4755	54	NCBG staff	1993-08-20	View
12741	9428	146	Wenck	2021-05-03	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: HEAT
USDA Common Name: Purpledisk Sunflower
Native Status: L48 (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, FL, GA, IL, KY, LA, MS, NC, NJ, SC, TN, VA)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Forb/herb

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Helianthus atrorubens
COMMON NAME: Appalachian Sunflower
SYNONYMY: [= C, FNA, K, RAB, SE, Va, W, WH3; > H. atrorubens var. alsodes Fernald - F; > H. atrorubens var. atrorubens - F; = H. atrorubens var. atrorubens - G; < H. atrorubens - S]
PHENOLOGY: Late Jul-Oct.
HABITAT: Dry soils of rocky, sandy, or clayey woodlands and roadbanks.
COMMENTS: N. VA west to w. TN, and south to c. GA, Panhandle FL, AL, and se. LA. Related to the Ozarkean H. silphioides Nuttall.
RANGE MAP: Helianthus atrorubens.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Asteraceae Dumortier 1822 or COMPOSITAE Giseke 1792 (Aster Family)
SUMMARY: A family of about 1500-1700 genera and 20,000-25,000 species, shrubs, herbs, trees, and vines, cosmopolitan in distribution.
REFERENCE: Cronquist (1980)=SE throughout family treatment.

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Helianthus L. (Sunflower)
SUMMARY: A genus of about 50 species, herbs, of North America.
REFERENCE: Schilling in FNA (2006c); Heiser et al. (1969); Cronquist (1980)=SE; Schilling et al. (1998). Key adapted from FNA, SE, RAB, and Heiser et al. (1969).

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Helianthus atrorubens in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Helianthus atrorubens in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Helianthus atrorubens in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Helianthus atrorubens in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Helianthus atrorubens in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Helianthus atrorubens

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 14769 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 19350 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 0 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 19350 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)