Perennial Plant Profiles

Helianthus maximiliani, Maximilian sunflower

We can think of at least 180 great forest garden & perennial crops for cold climate Sweden.  Want to hear about them? Over the course of the next year we will profile 5 a week on the blog. Perennial plants and crops offer a low energy, oil & resource input based foundation for future-proof agricultures. By default if an agriculture is to be called regenerative the bottom line is that it must be soil building, not soil depleting. Relentless deep tillage & poor soil husbandry (wifery?!) contributes to the majority of the 24 billion tons of topsoil lost every year on planet water.  We are going to be focused on holistic polyculture grazing and perennial production at ridgedale over most of the site as this represents the most effective way to restore our degraded landscape, produce high value produce and ensure the future resource base we are managing holistically for in our decision making. 

---

Genus Helianthus
Species maximiliani
Common Name Maximilian sunflower
Form herb
Habit running
Origin North America
Light sun
Moisture mesic 
Edible roots, shoots
Nectary Yes


A branching perennial herb, growing from a stout rhizome and reaches heights from one half to three meters. The slender, tall, erect stems and alternately-arranged leaves are covered in rough hairs.  The lance-shaped leaves are narrow, pointed, folded down the midvein, and up to 30 centimeters long on large plants.  The plant reproduces by seed and by vegetative sprouting from the rhizome.

The flower heads are surrounded at the base by pointed green phyllaries which often stick straight out and curl at the tips. The center is filled with yellow tipped brown disc florets and the circumference is lined with bright yellow ray florets 2 to 4 centimeters long.

Tubers can be eaten raw or cooked. They are similar in flavour to Jerusalem artichokes, but lower yielding. Seed can also be eaten raw or cooked. An edible oil is obtained from the seed.

The thick rhizome is edible and provided a food similar to the Jerusalem artichoke for Native American groups such as the Sioux. The flower heads are attractive to insects and the fruits are eaten by birds.

The Land Institute, a perennial agriculture research center located in Salina, Kansas, run by Wes Jackson is experimenting with this species to create a perennial oilseed grain crop that does not necessitate replanting each season.

---

OUR FRIENDS AT PFAF HAVE AN AMAZING DATABASE OF SPECIES (UK BASED);

Helianthus maximilianii