Maximilian SunflowerHelianthus maximiliani
Information from USGS
This sunflower was discovered by the wealthy German nobleman-scientist Prinz Maximilian von Wied-Neuwied who, accompanied by the talented Swiss artist Karl Bodmer, in 1832-1834 collected invaluable biological and anthropological material along the Upper Missouri River. The pair spent an entire winter at Fort Clark and the Mandan and Hidatsa Knife River villages. The species was officially described for science in 1835 by the distinguished German botanist at Gottingen, Professor Heinrich Schrader.
Growing 2 to 10 feet this sunflower is characterized by its narrow, curved leaves, often folded lengthwise. The flower heads are on rather short stalks, with disk about an inch wide and rays up to 1.5 inches long. The entire plant is covered with fine hairs. Blooms from June to October in prairies from Minnesota to Saskatchewan and southward to Missouri and Texas; also infrequently eastwards although it has been found in most states east of the Mississippi River.
