Stats

Lifespan

Perennial

Size

Large

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Freshwater wetland

Range

North America

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Spines

Status

Uncommon

About

This towering plant grows in the wetlands and meadows of North America. Its stem can reach heights of four meters and tracks the sun across the sky every day.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

• View on iNaturalist →

Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Asterales

Family

Asteraceae

Genus

Helianthus

Species

Helianthus giganteus