Helianthus annuus L., Asteraceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 10.5 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Helianthus lenticularis Douglas

Common name(s): [more details]

English: annual sunflower, common sunflower, sunflower, wild sunflower

French: grand soleil, tournesol

Hawaiian: nānālā, pua nānālā

Spanish: alizeti, girasol

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Coarse, taprooted annual herbs usually 1-3 m tall, branched or unbranched.  Leaves primarily alternate, except the lowermost, ovate to broadly ovate or cordate, 10-40 cm long, 5-25 cm wide, margins toothed to subentire, petioles often as long as or slightly longer than blades.  Heads solitary or several to numerous, 3 (-30 in cultivars) cm in diameter; involucral bracts ovate to ovate-oblong, abruptly contracted above the middle, margins ciliate and hispid or hirsute; ray florets 17-35 per head, rays 2.5-5 cm long; disk corollas red or purple.  Achenes 3.3-7 mm long"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 322).

"Annuals, 100-300 cm. Stems erect, usually hispid. Leaves mostly cauline; mostly alternate; petioles 2-20 cm; blades lance-ovate to ovate, 10-40 x 5-40 cm, bases cuneate to subcordate or cordate, margins serrate, abaxial faces usually ± hispid, sometimes gland-dotted . Heads 1-9. Peduncles 2-20 cm. Involucres hemispheric or broader, 15-40(-200+) mm diam. Phyllaries 20-30(-100+), ovate to lance-ovate, 13-25 x (3-)5-8 mm, (margins usually ciliate) apices abruptly narrowed, long-acuminate, abaxial faces usually hirsute to hispid, rarely glabrate or glabrous, usually gland-dotted. Paleae 9-11 mm, 3-toothed (middle teeth long-acuminate, glabrous or hispid). Ray florets (13-)17-30(-100+); laminae 25-50 mm. Disc florets 150+(-1000+); corollas 5-8 mm (throats ± bulbous at bases), lobes usually reddish, sometimes yellow ; anthers brownish to black, appendages yellow or dark (style branches yellow) . Cypselae (3-)4-5(-15) mm, glabrate ; pappi of 2 lanceolate scales 2-3.5 mm plus 0-4 obtuse scales 0.5-1 mm"  (Flora of North America online).

Habitat/ecology:  In New Zealand, "casual of waste places"  (Webb et al., 1988; p. 221).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "North America from Canada south to Mexico and throughout the United States"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 322).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	‘Atiu Island	introduced cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2008)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Mangaia Island	introduced cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2008)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Ma‘uke Island	introduced cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2008)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Miti‘aro Island	introduced cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2008)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	introduced cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Floreana Group	Floreana Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Isabela Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Volcán Sierra Negra, Isabela Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R. (1997) (p. 18)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R. (1997) (p. 18)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 322) Vouchers cited: Uehara s.n. (BISH), K. Nagata 3351 (HLA)
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Kwajalein (Kuwajleen) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Whistler, W. A./Steele, O. (1999) (p. 99) Previously recorded but not seen in this survey.
Marshall Islands Ratak Chain	Majuro (Mãjro) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Vander Velde, Nancy (2003) (p. 71) Rare, probably extirpated, at least periodically. Planted ornamental and sometimes sprouts from imported bird seed mixes.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Canada Province of British Columbia	Canada (British Columbia)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2009)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 221)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (Oregon)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2009)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (California)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2009)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (Washington)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2009)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast and Florida) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2009)

Additional information:
Information from James A. Duke. 1983. "Handbook of Energy Crops". unpublished.

Additional online information about Helianthus annuus is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Helianthus annuus as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Helianthus annuus may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

Other Latin names:  Helianthus lenticularis Douglas

References:

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos, Ecuador.

Fosberg, F. R. 1997. Preliminary checklist of the flowering plants and ferns of the Society Islands. Ed. by David R. Stoddart. U. Cal. Berkeley.

Kalkman, G. 1973. Malesian Maloideae. Blumea 21(2):427-428.

McCormack, Gerald. 2008. Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2005. A tropical garden flora: plants cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 908 pp.

U. S. Government. 2009. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2009. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2009. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Vander Velde, Nancy. 2003. The vascular plants of Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Smithsonian Institution, Atoll Research Bulletin No. 503:1-141.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.

Whistler, W. A./Steele, O. 1999. Botanical survey of the United States of America Kwajalein Atoll (USAKA) Islands. Prepared for Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education and the U. S. Army Environmental Center. 111 pp.