Prairie sunflower belongs to the Sunflower family, Asteraceae.

• Resembles the annual sunflower but is shorter in height.
• grows an average less than four feet tall.
• Stems are erected, often times reddish in color with hairy or bristly.
• Leaves are alternate, small, narrow, ovate and less than four inches long.
• inflorescence (flowering part of plant) has whitish hairs in the center of the disk flowers and the bracts of the involucre are narrower to the tip. Photo Credit: Aaron Rinker, USFWS
• Grows in sandy soils along roadsides, rangelands and often seen as an ornamental.
• Highly palatable early in their blooming season, usually June to September.
• Livestock and wildlife feed on the flowering heads and their seeds.

American Indians extracted oil from the sunflower seeds for their hair and for cooking. The crushed seeds were made into breads and thickening soups. Today, sunflower oil is used commercially as unsaturated oil in cooking and dietary supplements.

Photo Credit: Sherry Skipper, USFWS 1/14/09r="#800000" size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">For a complete Refuge species list

For in-depth plant information
connect with the U.S. Dept Agriculture Plant Data Base

Last Updated: 1/14/09

Blooming Times On The Refuge

April-June: Sand lily

May-June: Ball cactus, Prickly pear

May-July: Scarlet butterfly weed, Prairie evening primrose, Blanket flower, Low daisy

May-August: Blue flax, Wine cup

June-August: Rocky Mountain beeplant, Wavy leaved thistle, Blazing star

June-September: Prairie coneflower, Hairy golden aster, Evening star, Sunflower, Scarlet globemallow

July-September: Black eyed susan, Purple prairie aster

NORTHERN PRAIRIE WILDLIFE RESEARCH CENTER