Oxeye Sunflower, PA Ecotype

Heliopsis helianthoides (Oxeye Sunflower) is an erect-growing, clump-forming native perennial that typically grows to 4.9 ft. Oxeye Sunflower blooms from mid- to early fall with yellow flowers that attract a variety of native bees and butterflies. Birds eagerly forage on the ripe seeds of Heliopsis helianthoides. Oxeye Sunflower’s leaves are opposite, dentate (toothed), and lance-ovate to ovate (shaped like a long section of a chicken egg, the narrow part away from the stem, the wide part close to the stem). With the aid of Ernst’s Seedling Gallery, Heliopsis helianthoides seedlings are easy to recognize in meadows, usually three to six weeks after the frost-free date. Oxeye Sunflower grows in partial shade to full sun in mesic to dry soils of fields, floodplains, streambanks, and woods. We have not observed significant deer browse of Heliopsis helianthoides. Oxeye Sunflower can be found from New York to Georgia and North Dakota to New Mexico. With its environmental adaptability, we use Heliopsis helianthoides in upland, steep slope, riparian, partial shade, FACW, and deer-resistant meadow mixes. Heliopsis helianthoides is a member of the aster (Asteraceae) family. The genus Helianthus is derived from the Greek words helios and opsis meaning sun and resembling, respectively, alluding to the rayed yellow flowerheads. The species name helianthoides means resembling the genus Helianthus, the genus of true sunflowers. Because of this, Heliopsis helianthoides is sometimes called false sunflower.