Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. The North Carolina State University Herbarium describes Schweinitiz’s sunflower this way. A perennial rhizomatous herb with one to several hairy purple stems growing from a cluster of carrot-like tuberous roots. It goes on to tell us that the leaves “feel like felt on the underside and rough like sandpaper” on the top. Before you think yuck olla all over it does have lovely, although somewhat smallish typical sunflower blossoms, very attractive to pollinators, and is only found naturally in a limited number of sites in North and South Carolina that reflect the conditions originally found in the Piedmont prairie ecosystem. A report from Rock Hill’s Culture and Heritage Museums states that that “without human intervention, extinction will come sooner rather than later for this species.York County is home to several important populations of this Federally endangered species, one at the Historic Brattonsville property.
More About Schweinitz's Sunflower
