Michigan Pale-Leaf Woodland Sunflower

This unique sunflower is a close relative of the Jerusalem artichoke, however the  roots are very thin and branched. it too spreads by stolons which branch out to form a lattice of roots. The roots are not as aggressive as the sunchoke.  

Our selection was found off I-94 in Michigan near a landfill after major excavation took place on a hillside. It developed into a sizable colony which was later almost exterminated by herbicide and mowing over a 10 year period.  It appears to be true to type and has the unique foliage and tubers expected from the named species strummosus.  Because of the thicker and more numerous hairs on the leaves we believe it is more drought tolerant than our other sunchoke varieties.  It spreads but not overly aggressive for a sunchoke and easy to remove from the soil. Its  edible but not too tasty.

The Michigan pale-leaf woodland sunflower provides amazing benefits to all types of bees and butterflies. Its flowers seem to have a lot of pollen. It will produce seed and we recommend if you are growing it for seed to use another one of our pale leaf sunflowers to get good seed set. 

If deer consume this plant, it is not a big deal as the plant seems to respond well to browse and resprouts quickly. It also appears to be way more drought tolerant than sunchokes.