

HAIRY SUNFLOWER 



Helianthus mollis Lam. 



Late Summer Twonty-livo sunlloweis and many subspecies are listed 

 Roadsides in (! ray's Manual of Botany . 1050 edition, and of these 



ninny arc found in Illinois; most of tlu-m l)loom in 

 September. 



Hairy sunflower {Helianthus mollis) is compact, seldom more than 

 two to throe foot tall, has ])airs of small, thick, hairy, heart-shaped leaves 

 clasping- the hairy or downy stem. Usually one showy sunllower with 

 brown center stands regally at the top of the stalk. A neat, ornamental 

 plant, it is found alonfr sandy ]u*airie roadsides and at the edjres of woods. 



AVoodland sunflower {llcUanthvs divaricatiis) grows in dry woods 

 and lilooms in July, earlier than the majority of sunilowers, and some- 

 times is the first of its kind to come into bloom. The three to six foot 

 stem is slender, stiff, and fine-hairy, with ])airs of opposite leaves ar- 

 ranged rather far apart ujion it. One to thr(^(> flowers are borne on short 

 stalks above the la.^t ])air of leaves and are three inches broad with 

 golden-brown center. 



Giant sunllower {Helianthus yrosseserratus) is truly the giant of 

 fhcm all. The plants often reach a heiixht of eight to twelve feet and are 

 much branched above with abundant ilowcr stems. The leaves are large, 

 jaggedly toothed, in drooping pairs on the rough stem. The upper part 

 of the stem with its num(>rous branches bears great clusters of bright 

 yellow sunflowers with golden-brown centers. The flowers ])Ossess that 

 compelling beauty of the sunllower, and are fragrant with a rich odor 

 reminiscent of chocolate. The giant sunflower is a common border plant 

 ahmg country roads, bottomland roads, and ditches in August and Sep- 

 tember. This is the climax of the year's color: this is the Time of Yellow 

 Flowers. 



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