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Cusick's sunflower

Helianthus cusickii

Also called Parsnip Root Sunflower, Turnip Root Sunflower

Cusick's sunflower
Photo: Thayne Tuason, CC BY-SA 4.0

Cusick's sunflower is a native perennial wildflower of western North American mountain forests and foothills, grown from a thick, fleshy taproot. It is a sunflower that suits wild or naturalistic gardens where it can be left undisturbed.

Family
Asteraceae (Daisy family)
Grows as
Bulb, Perennial
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Water moderately while establishing, then let the soil dry between waterings; it tolerates drought once mature.
Soil
Well-drained, loamy or gritty soil; avoid heavy wet clay.
Temperature
Hardy to around -20 °C; tolerates cold winters and hot dry summers.
How easy
Moderate
Native range
W. U.S.A.

About

Helianthus cusickii is a species of sunflower known by the common names Cusick's sunflower and turniproot sunflower. It is native to the western United States from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, northern California, and northwestern Nevada.

Helianthus cusickii grows in mountain forests and foothills. This wildflower is a perennial up to 120 cm (4 feet) tall, growing from a thick, fleshy taproot. The lance-shaped leaves reach 15 centimeters (6 inches) in length, and the stem and foliage are often covered in long hairs. The flower heads have a base of long, hairy green phyllaries. The center of the head is filled with at least 40 yellow disc florets surrounded by 12–16 ray florets.

Other Helianthus plants

Southeastern sunflower · Helianthus ambiguus · Swamp sunflower · Common sunflower · Western sunflower · Silverleaf sunflower · Arizona sunflower · Purpledisk sunflower · Serpentine sunflower · Helianthus brevifolius · California sunflower · Lakeside sunflower

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Helianthus cusickii by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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