SCIENTIFIC NAME: Heliopsis helianthoides
COMMON NAMES: False Sunflower, Early Sunflower, Sweet Smooth Ox-eye ,Smooth Oxeye, Ox-eye Sunflower, Ox-eye, Eastern Sunflower-everlasting, Heliopsis Ox-eye, Smooth Ox-eye
BLOOM TIME: June, July, Aug, Sept
PLANT PROFILE:
- 3-5 ft. tall plant, becoming bushy.
- Leaves up to 5 in. long & rough texture from tiny hairs.
- Flowerheads in. wide with 8-20 ray florets.
- Called “false” because ray and disc florets produce seeds. Only florets produce seeds on true sunflowers.
- Habitat: black soil prairies, river-bottom prairies, grassy meadows in wooded areas, open woodlands, woodland borders, savannas, thickets, limestone glades, banks of streams.
INSECT/ANIMAL INTERACTIONS:
- Songbirds, and small rodents probably eat the seeds.
- Hoofed mammalian herbivores probably browse on the young foliage.