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Helianthella
quinquenervis Montane,
subalpine. Woodlands,
streamsides. Summer. Helianthella quinquenervis, sometimes growing to an eye-catching four feet, is common, but scattered, in woodlands from the Aspen belt to the subalpine. Its bright yellow flowers are up to four inches in diameter, and its leaves are long and strap like with a few on the tall sturdy stem. "Helios" is Greek for "sun" and "anthos" for "flower" (see Helianthus annuus). "Helianthella" is the diminutive of Helianthus and thus means "Little Sunflower" (even though quinquenervis is quite tall and its flower very large). The species name is Latin for five-nerved (referring to the leaf veins). Nathaniel Wyeth collected the first specimen of this genus in the Rocky Mountains, probably in 1832 on his return from the Pacific. He gave the specimen to his friend and noted botanist, Thomas Nuttall, who named the genus Helianthus (The plant was not our species; it was Helianthus uniflorus). In 1841 Nuttall realized that the plant genus was incorrect and renamed it Leighia uniflora. But this genus name was rejected (I do not know why) by Torrey and Gray and they renamed it Helianthella. Our species, Helianthella quinquenervis, went through similar naming pains: the specimen was first collected in 1843-1844 near the North Fork of the Platte in Wyoming by Charles Geyer. William Jackson Hooker, apparently following Nuttall's lead, named the plant Helianthus quinquenervis. Asa Gray renamed it Helianthella quinquenervis in1883. (More biographical information.) |
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Helianthella
quinquenervis Montane,
subalpine. Woodlands,
streamsides. Summer. |
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Helianthella
quinquenervis Montane,
subalpine. Woodlands,
streamsides. Summer. |
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Helianthella
quinquenervis Montane,
subalpine. Woodlands,
streamsides. Summer. |
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Helianthella
quinquenervis Montane,
subalpine. Woodlands,
streamsides. Summer. Even before delicate fall colors appear, the tasty, mature, sunflower seed-heads of quinquenervis are eaten whole by elk, deer, and bear. |
