Helianthus schweinitzii
Origin: Piedmont Region of North and South Carolina
Improvement status: Cultivated wild material
Seeds per packet: ~35
BOTANICAL SAMPLE - NOT GERMINATION TESTED
Life cycle: Perennial
Schweinitz's sunflower is one of the rarest sunflowers in the world. It is also a long-lived perennial and a beautiful plant, reaching upwards of 9 feet tall and capped by small brilliant yellow flowers. Endemic to small portions of the Piedmont bioregion of mainly central North Carolina, as well as an even smaller portion of adjacent South Carolina, this sunflower has become a federally listed endangered species due to the destruction and fragmentation of its habitat. It does best in the same sort of upland landscapes where people like to put houses, businesses, and powerlines. Given its small range includes the rapidly develping suburbs and exurbs of major cities including Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and Charlotte, Schweinitz's has nowhere else to go. Most of the populations that still exist in the wild are found along roadsides.
Thankfully, there are some cultivated patches here and there, and one of these is stewarded by our friend Zach Elfers in southeastern Pennsylvania. That patch is the source of these seeds. (For anyone wary of running afoul of the Endangered Species Act by buying, growing, or sharing these seeds, the US Fish and Wildlife Service clearly states on their webste that "No permits are required for activities involving seeds from artificially propagated specimens of threatened plants. However, seeds must be accompanied by a label stating that they are of cultivated origin.")
