Educational Story
Rayless Sunflower, Helianthus radula, is a sunflower that produces a tight cluster of purple to brown, tighly packed disk flowers atop a long stalk. This sunflower lacks the showy, outer ray flowers of the inflorescence typical of other members of the Asteraceae, like daisies. It has large, rounded, hairy basal leaves growing close to the ground. The native range of this species is the southern coastal plain from South Carolina to Louisiana and Florida. It thrives in wet, sunny locations and is a great wildflower to use in native plantings and pollinator gardens.
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Gardening Facts
| Scientific Name: | Helianthus radula |
| Common Name: | Rayless Sunflower, Stiff Sunflower |
| Description of facts and concepts: | Long stalk with a dark purple compact flower head. Often thought to be a dead flower since it doesn’t display the typical ray flowers around the disk as in other members of the Asteraceae. |
| Seed or division information: | Seeds fall due to gravity |
| Date of flower’s bloom (Month and week): | Summer, fall |
| Ecoregion: | Pinelands |
| Color of Flower: | Dark Red to purple |
| Height: | 3 feet and up |
| Spread: | 1-3 feet |
| Family: | Asteraceae (aster or daisy) |
| Soil Type: Base to Acidic | Acidic |
| Soil: Dry to Wet | Moist |
| Light: Sun to Shade | Sun |
| Zone | 8A-9B |