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Helianthus ciliaris

DC.

Blue-weed Sunflower

G5Secure Found in 4 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.140740
Element CodePDAST4N0B0
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderAsterales
FamilyAsteraceae
GenusHelianthus
Other Common Names
Blueweed (EN) Blueweed Sunflower (EN) Texas Blueweed (EN) Texas blueweed (EN)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2025-11-05
Change Date1990-01-16
Edition Date2025-11-05
Edition AuthorsRusso, Mary (TNC WRO) (1989), rev. Soteropoulos (2025)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Helianthus ciliaris is a wide-ranging perennial herb found in a variety of disturbed habitats, including open drainage areas, along streams and canals, in ditches, cultivated fields, and along roadsides. It occurs in south-central and southwestern North America from Kansas and Utah south through Texas and Arizona in the United States to northern Mexico. It is introduced in California, Colorado, and Illinois and can be considered a noxious weed. There are over 300 estimated occurrences, which potentially face threats from development, rights-of-way maintenance, invasive species, and other threats in some places. Little is known about trends, but with a large range extent and large number of occurrences, abundant habitat, and broad habitat preferences, this species is considered secure.
Range Extent Comments
Helianthus ciliaris occurs in south-central and southwestern North America from Kansas and Utah south through central Texas and Arizona in the United States to Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, San Luis Potosí, Sonora, and Tamaulipas in Mexico (FNA 2006, Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2025). This species is introduced in California (Jepson 2025), Colorada (Ackerfield 2022), a waif in southern Illinois (Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2025), and it was reported as nonnative for Idaho and Washington, though control measures may have extirpated it (FNA 2006). FNA (2006) includes two states with questionable nativity, as Thiem and Nachlinger (2025) exclude this species from the Nevada checklist, and specimens from Nebraska could not be found, despite north to south Nebraska being included in the Flora of the Great Plains (Barkley 1986). Native range extent was estimated to be over 1.5 million square kilometers using herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1994 and 2025 (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, RARECAT 2025, SEINet 2025).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1994 and 2025, it is estimated that there are over 300 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, RARECAT 2025, SEINet 2025).
Threat Impact Comments
Although threats are not widely documented, this species is potentially threatened by development, rights-of-way maintenance, invasive species, and other threats in some places. However, their overall impact is likely negligible given the species' broad range, large number of occurrences, and tolerance of light disturbance.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Helianthus ciliaris grows in open drainage areas, along streams and canals, in ditches, cultivated fields, and along roadsides (FNA 2006, Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2025).

Reproduction

This species flowers from summer (June) to fall (October) (FNA 2006, Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2025).
Terrestrial Habitats
Old fieldCropland/hedgerowSuburban/orchard
Palustrine Habitats
Riparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
ColoradoSNANo
CaliforniaSNANo
IllinoisSNANo
New MexicoSNRYes
OklahomaSNRYes
UtahS1Yes
TexasSNRYes
KansasSNRYes
ArizonaSNRYes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
Unknown/undetermined———

—

Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)Yes
Roadless Areas (4)
New Mexico (4)
AreaForestAcres
Capitan MountainsLincoln National Forest14,069
Carrizo MountainLincoln National Forest17,280
Contiguous To Gila Wilderness & Primitive AreaGila National Forest79,049
Gila BoxGila National Forest23,759
References (11)
  1. Ackerfield, J. 2022. Flora of Colorado. Second Edition. Bot. Misc. 60. BRIT Press, Fort Worth Botanic Garden/Botanical Research Institute of Texas, U.S.A. 861 pp.
  2. Barkley, T. M. 1986. Flora of the great plains. Great Plains Flora Assoc., Univ. Press of Kansas, 1392 pp.
  3. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2006c. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 21. Magnoliophyta: Asteridae, part 8: Asteraceae, part 3. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxii + 616 pp.
  4. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2025. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2025).
  5. iNaturalist. 2025. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2025).
  6. Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2025. Jepson eFlora. Online. Available: https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/ (accessed 2025).
  7. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  8. <p>NatureServe's Rapid Analysis of Rarity and Endangerment Conservation Assessment Tool (RARECAT). 2025. Version: 2.1.1 (released April 04, 2025).</p>
  9. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2025. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2025).
  10. Thiem, A.J., and J.L. Nachlinger. 2025. Nevada plants: an annotated checklist of the state's botanical diversity. BRIT Press, Fort Worth, TX. 284 pp.
  11. Weakley, A.S., and Southeastern Flora Team. 2025. Flora of the southeastern United States Web App. Edition of February 18, 2025. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Online. Available: https://fsus.ncbg.unc.edu (accessed 2025).