Annual Sunflower vs Beach Sunflower

Helianthus annuus compared with Helianthus debilis

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Annual Sunflower	Beach Sunflower
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order same	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)
Family same	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)
Genus same	Helianthus (Sunflowers)	Helianthus (Sunflowers)
Species	Helianthus annuus	Helianthus debilis

Evolutionary Relationship

Annual Sunflower and Beach Sunflower share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Helianthus. (Sunflowers)

Conservation Status

Annual Sunflower

NE — Not Evaluated

Trend: Stable →

Beach Sunflower

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Annual Sunflower	Beach Sunflower
Diet	Autotroph	—
Average Lifespan	1 years	—
Average Length	3.0 m	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Annual Sunflower

Habitat

Inhabits montane grasslands and shrublands and Mediterranean forests and woodlands within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (12 countries), Asia (7 countries), Europe (30 countries), North America (Canada, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia, Marshall Islands), and South America (4 countries).

Beach Sunflower

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Asia (India, South Korea), Europe (9 countries), North America (United States), and Oceania and the Pacific (Australia).

Annual Sunflower

One of the world's most cultivated flowering plants and an economically critical oilseed crop, sunflowers are native to North America and can reach 3 meters in height with flower heads up to 30 cm across. Their distinctive behavior of tracking the sun — solar heliotropism in young plants — gave them their name. A single sunflower head consists of up to 2,000 tiny individual florets. Global production exceeds 50 million tonnes annually, valued for oil, seeds, and birdfeed.

Beach Sunflower

The Beach Sunflower (Helianthus debilis) is a species in the genus Helianthus. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 13 countries:

🇦🇺 Australia 🇦🇹 Austria 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇷 France 🇮🇳 India 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇿🇦 South Africa 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 🇺🇸 United States