Los Angeles Sunflower Anthology

Edited by
Robert 'Roy' J. van de Hoek
Field Biologist & Geographer
Sierra Club, Wetlands Action Network, National Audubon Society
and the
California Native Plant Society
P.O. Box 192
Malibu, CA 90265
(310) 456-5604

October 2002


The Los Angeles Sunflower, once thought extinct, has had the good fortune, I hope, to be rediscovered. The newly discovered population is a very sacred California treasure and must not be allowed to go extinct, or be tampered with by developers. This unique native plant grew to nearly 17 feet tall and was found in marshes, swamps, and damp river banks around southern California until about World War II. The major alterations of flood control that began just prior to the War, but accelerated after the War, led to the demise of this beautiful native endemic plant throughout the Los Angeles region, or so we thought. The wetland ecosystem near Valencia that is home to the only remaining population of Los Angeles Sunflower holds the key, in the wet soil, and the faith in the seed, to be recovered and restored to historic locations where it once occurred. These places include: Santa Monica at cienegas, Los Angeles River, Riverside, Newport Bay, Bolsa Chica wetlands, and Ballona wetlands. This web site will compile, synthesize, and analyze all that is known about the Los Angeles Sunflower, a plant known to scientists today by the name of Helianthus nuttallii parishii, but has also been known as Helianthus oliveri, Helianthus parishii, and Helianthus californicus parishii. Hope springs eternal is a phrase, I first learned about in 1989 at the Carrizo Plain. Once upon a time, Carrizo was almost used as a toxic land fill for Los Angeles, but has now become a National Monument. The Carrizo Plain is a geography of hope, and there, hope does springs eternal for several endangered native plants. We can only hope that the native plant, known as the Los Angeles Sunflower, can be so lucky as to find a geography of hope in southern California. Will hope spring eternal, in the damp wetland soils, that have the potential to grow the Los Angeles Sunflower, next spring, at the Bolsa Chica wetlands, Los Angeles River, Santa Clara River near Santa Clarita, La Cienega near Santa Monica, Riverside, Newport Bay, and the Ballona wetlands near Culver City?

Gardening LA Sunflower: Southern California Academy of Sciences Bulletin, 1903

Scientists Discover Extinct Plant: Los Angeles Times, September 21, 2002

Sunflower Find a Real Surprise: Daily News, September 29, 2002

Rare Sunflower Reported: Daily News, September 21, 2002

SC River Full of Surprises: Santa Paula News, October 9, 2002

Los Angeles Sunflower by Harvey Hall: University of California Publications in Botany, 1907

Los Angeles Sunflower

Open This Link for Enlargement of Los Angeles Sunflower Herbarium Voucher; Live Photograph Lacking