I got this plant from someone at my work in the spring. It has grown extremely tall and has only just now started to bloom. I brought it home in May and it is October now. The buds have taken a few weeks to finally open. The long skinny leaves are hairy and very rough feeling. I brushed up against the leaves and got an allergic burning itchy reaction. I have it planted up next to the house where it gets water regularly and full sun. It has good fertile dirt.
Hi Carol,
this is an interesting sunflower. It matches best Helianthus schweinitzii, Schweinitz’s sunflower, a species found only locally in remnant prairies on the border of North and South Carolina, and it has been listed as a threatened plant. If it is that plant, it will have tuberous roots. If it is not that, it is certainly a close relative.
Sincerely,
Steven Hill, Ph.D., Botanist, SCNPS