Texas Blueweed (Helianthus ciliaris DC.)
↑Summary
A rhizomatous perennial native to the southwestern to south-central US and Mexico, and a major weed in cropland.
↑Range - Expand
| Legend | Color |
| Native | |
| Introduced | |
| Not Present | |
| Native or Not Present | |
| Native or Expanded | |
| Expanded or Not Present | |
| Expanded or Introduced | |
| Native or Expanded or Not Present |
This tentative map is based on our own research. It may have limited data on Canada and/or Mexico, and there is some subjectivity in our assignment of plants as introduced vs. expanded. Read more in this blog post.
Although this plant occurs somewhere in each of these regions, it may only occur in a small part of some or all of them.
Different sources disagree as to exactly where this species is native, but it is generally agreed-upon to be native to Mexico and some of the southwestern states, and non-native in California. BONAP marks it adventive in Utah and Colorado, but native in Nevada. We made a lot of subjective judgment calls when marking this plant as Native, Introduced, or Expanded in various regions. This species is also native in Mexico, and may have also expanded its range there; we have yet to build this portion of its map.
↑Control
Because this species has potential to be invasive in areas outside its native range, care must be taken to avoid spreading it to new areas. It is thought to spread through contaminated seed, such as of oats or alfalfa.
Where it is established, this species usually does not form monocultures in healthy wild ecosystems and is usually not even among the dominant vegetation. The establishment of native perennial grasses reduce the dominance of this plant to a minor component of the ecosystem, and the reduction of soil disturbance can reduce its dominance and spread.
Small, new populations can be removed by hand-pulling and/or herbicide use. However, these methods are often ineffective at controlling larger populations because soil disturbance and removal of competing vegetation tends to favor this plant in the long-run.
↑Notes
This species is named for its bluish foliage, and called a weed because of its tendency to reproduce aggressively in disturbed habitats, including cropland.
↑Links & External Resources
• Helianthus ciliaris (Texas blueweed) | USDA PLANTS Database (About This Site)
• Helianthus ciliaris (Texas blueweed) | CABI Invasive Species Compendium (About This Site)
• Helianthus ciliaris | Biota of North America Project (BONAP) (About This Site)
• Helianthus ciliaris | NatureServe Explorer (About This Site)
• Helianthus ciliaris | Flora of North America (About This Site)
• Helianthus ciliaris DC. | Plants of the World Online (POWO) (About This Site)
