Helianthus maximiliani (Double Head Sunflower)

Common name(s): Maximillian Sunflower, Maximillian Daisy

identify | Cultivate | Harvest

Environment

Protected Areas: 

Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada

Fort Larned National Historic Site, Kansas, US

Knife River Indian Villages National Hist. Site, North Dakota, US

Pipestone National Monument, Minnesota, US

Riding Mountain Biosphere Reserve, Manitoba, Canada

Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, US

Identification

Taxonomy: Plantae > Tracheophyta > Magnoliopsida > Asterales > Asteraceae > Helianthus > Helianthus maximiliani

Height: 2.4 m (7 ft)

Width: 0.6 - 1.2 m (2 - 4 ft)

Foliage Type: Evergreen

Habit: Upright-bushy

Bark Type: Soft wooded

Leaf: The lance-shaped leaves are narrow, rough, pointed, and folded down the midvein, and up to 30 cm (12 in) long on large plants.

Flower: The flower heads are surrounded at the base by pointed green phyllarieswhich often stick straight out and curl at the tips. The center is filled with yellow tipped brown disc florets and the circumference is lined with bright yellow ray florets 2–4 cm (1–1+1⁄2 in) long.

Flower Type: Hermaphrodite

Pollinator: bees, flies

Flower Time: Feb - May (SH) | Aug - Oct (NH)

Fruit: Edible and brown with flattened black achenes are up to 10 mm (3/8 in) long and are slightly pubescent and have no pappus.

Fruit Time: Apr - May (SH) | Oct - Nov (NH)

Cultivation

Growth Type: Perennial

Origin: North America, USDA hardiness zone 5-10

Climate: Natural Soil: Well drained, clay to loamy soil, frost tolerant

Aspect: Full Sun

Propagation: seed, division

Pruning:

Fertilising:

Attracts: birds, bees, butterflies, slugs, beetles

Allies:

Important:

Pest and Disease: Chlosyne lacinia (Patched butterfly), Reithrodontomys montanus (plains harvest mouse)

Harvest

Edible Parts: tubers, seed

Edible Uses:

Tubers - raw or cooked. Similar in flavour to Jerusalem artichokes, but lower yielding.

Seed - raw or cooked.

An edible oil is obtained from the seed

Medicinal Parts:

Medicinal Uses:

Support Parts:

Support Uses:

Warnings:

Allergen Potential: Medium

Nutritional Information

Food Name: Oil, sunflower

Energy, with dietary fibre (kJ): 120

Energy, without dietary fibre (kJ): 83

Moisture (g): 89.6

Protein (g): 1.5

Total fat (g): 0.3

Available carbohydrates, with sugar alcohols (g): 2.6

Available carbohydrates, without sugar alcohol (g): 2.6

Starch (g): 0

Total sugars (g): 2.6

Added sugars (g): 0

Free sugars (g): 0

Dietary fibre (g): 4.7

Alcohol (g): 0

Ash (g): 0.9

Preformed vitamin A (retinol) (µg): 0

Beta-carotene (µg): 2230

Provitamin A (b-carotene equivalents) (µg): 2300

Vitamin A retinol equivalents (µg): 383

Thiamin (B1) (mg): 0.06

Riboflavin (B2) (mg): 0.21

Niacin (B3) (mg): 0.7

Niacin derived equivalents (mg): 0.99

Folate, natural  (µg): 105

Folic acid  (µg): 0

Total Folates  (µg): 105

Dietary folate equivalents  (µg): 105

Vitamin B6 (mg): 0.14

Vitamin B12  (µg): 0

Vitamin C (mg): 29

Alpha-tocopherol (mg): 0.2

Vitamin E (mg): 0.21

Calcium (Ca) (mg): 90

Iodine (I) (µg): 6.6

Iron (Fe) (mg): 2.8

Magnesium (Mg) (mg): 12

Phosphorus (P) (mg): 58

Potassium (K) (mg): 210

Selenium (Se) (µg): 0.9

Sodium (Na) (mg): 7

Zinc (Zn) (mg): 0.4

Caffeine (mg): 0

Cholesterol (mg): 0

Tryptophan (mg): 17

Total saturated fat (g): 0

Total monounsaturated fat (g): 0

Total polyunsaturated fat (g): 0

Linoleic acid (g): 0

Alpha-linolenic acid (g): 0

C20:5w3 Eicosapentaenoic (mg): 0

C22:5w3 Docosapentaenoic (mg): 0

C22:6w3 Docosahexaenoic (mg): 0

Total long chain omega 3 fatty acids (mg): 0

Total trans fatty acids (mg): 0

References

Kirkland, P. (2024). Allium cepa. Plant File, record 3085. https://www.plantfileonline.net/

Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia CommonsMcClure, S & Roth, S (1995) Companion Planting. Lothian Succesful Gardening. ISBN: 0 85091 691 7Tancred, J., Allardice, P., Stackhouse, J., Akeroyd, S., & Wharton, L. (2007). Natures Medicines. Readers Digest Association. ISBN: 1 876689 16 1

Plants For A Future contributors (2024). Helianthus maximiliani - Schrad. Plants For A Future. https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Helianthus+maximiliani

Unknown. (2023). Australian Food Composition Database downloadable files: Nutrition File. Food Standards Australia. Retrieved 30/06/2024 from https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/science-data/monitoringnutrients/afcd/australian-food-composition-database-download-excel-files

Unknown. (2023). Helianthus maximiliani (Maximilian sunflower). World Species. Retrieved from https://worldspecies.org/ntaxa/2286945

Unknown (2024). Maximillian Sunflower. Native Foods nursery. Retrieved from https://nativefoodsnursery.com/maximillian-sunflower/Wikipedia contributors. (2024, May 20). Helianthus maximiliani. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helianthus_maximiliani