Helianthus verticillatus

The giant whorled sunflower was first discovered in 1898 but thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 1994 by Jim Allison and Richard Ware. It is now a candidate for the Endangered Species list, being known only from three populations…one each in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee (all red states). In the wild, it prefers moist, alkaline prairie settings, but has also thrived in our dry acidic soils. H. verticillatus makes a great vertical element in the garden…a clump of 10-12′ tall stalks adorned with linear leaves, arranged in a whorled pattern. In mid-September through mid-October, the clumps are topped with 2-3″ wide yellow daisies.