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Habit Annuals, perennials, subshrubs, or shrubs, (2–)20–500 cm.
Leaves

usually mostly cauline, rarely mostly basal; mostly opposite (distal often alternate) or mostly alternate, rarely whorled;

petiolate or sessile;

blades (often 3- or 5-nerved) orbiculate or deltate to lanceolate or linear (and intermediate shapes), sometimes lobed, ultimate margins entire or toothed, faces usually hairy (often hispid to scabrellous), often gland-dotted.

Involucres

cylindric to hemispheric or rotate.

Receptacles

usually flat or convex, sometimes hemispheric or conic, usually paleate (epaleate in Lagascea; paleae usually falling, sometimes persistent, mostly oblong to linear, often conduplicate, herbaceous to scarious, apices sometimes ± 3-lobed or -toothed; becoming hardened perigynia completely investing cypselae in Sclerocarpus).

Ray florets

0 or 5–30(–100+), neuter, or styliferous and sterile;

corollas usually yellow to orange, sometimes partly or wholly brown to purple or red-brown to reddish.

Disc florets

1 (Lagascea) or 10–200(–1000+), bisexual, fertile;

corollas usually yellow to orange, sometimes brown to purple or reddish to red-brown, tubes shorter than or about equaling cylindric or funnelform throats, lobes 5, ± deltate (equal);

anther thecae dark or pale;

stigmatic papillae usually continuous.

Phyllaries

persistent, 4–45(–100+) in 1–6+ series (usually distinct, ± connate in Lagascea, broadly ovate to linear, subequal or unequal).

Calyculi

0.

Heads

usually radiate, sometimes discoid, borne singly or in corymbiform (paniculiform or racemiform) arrays (glomerules or second-order heads of 1–2-flowered heads in Lagascea).

Cypselae

often ± compressed, flattened, biconvex, clavate, columnar, obovoid, obpyramidal, or prismatic (lengths usually 1–2 times diams.), glabrous or hairy (faces and/or angles);

pappi 0, or (often readily falling or fragile, sometimes persistent) usually of (1–)2(–8+) (sometimes aristate) scales and/or awns, sometimes coroniform.

Asteraceae tribe Heliantheae subtribe Helianthinae

Distribution
Mostly subtropical; tropical; and warm-temperate New World
Discussion

Genera 17, species 363 (8 genera, 69 species, including 1 hybrid, in the flora).

Circumscription of Helianthinae adopted here (i.e., that of H. Robinson 1981) is narrower than traditional circumscriptions (e.g., T. F. Stuessy 1977[1978]), which included genera here treated in Ecliptinae, Galinsoginae, and Rudbeckiinae.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Phyllaries 4–5 in ± 1 series (connate); disc florets 1(–2; the 1–2-flowered heads aggregated in glomerules or second-order heads)
Lagascea
1. Phyllaries 5–45(–100+) in (1–)2–6+ series (distinct); disc florets (10–)15–200(–1000+)
→ 2
2. Receptacles paleate (each palea completely investing and falling with a cypsela, eachforming a hardened perigynium)
Sclerocarpus
2. Receptacles paleate (paleae sometimes conduplicate, ± enfolding cypselae, not forming perigynia)
→ 3
3. Heads borne singly (peduncles usually distally dilated, fistulose)
Tithonia
3. Heads borne singly or in corymbiform, paniculiform, racemiform, or thyrsiform arrays (peduncles rarely, if ever, notably dilated or fistulose)
→ 4
4. Cypselae flattened, thin-margined
Simsia
4. Cypselae ± compressed, biconvex, or 3- or 4-angled, often obpyramidal
→ 5
5. Cypselae glabrous or glabrate; pappi 0
→ 6
5. Cypselae usually ± strigose, sometimes glabrous or glabrate; pappi of 2–6+, persistent, readily falling, or tardily falling scales
→ 8
6. Shrubs (leaves often lobed, lobes usually 3–9, ± linear)
Viguiera
6. Annuals or perennials (leaves not lobed)
→ 7
7. Annuals; leaf blades lanceolate to linear; involucres 5–6 mm diam.;phyllaries 11–17
Helianthus
7. Annuals or perennials; leaf blades lance-linear, lanceolate, ovate, rhombic, or rhombic-ovate; involucres 6–14 mm diam.; phyllaries14–25
Heliomeris
8. Shrubs; involucres 5–9 mm diam
Bahiopsis
8. Annuals or perennials; involucres (5–)7–40+ mm diam
→ 9
9. Pappi readily falling
Helianthus
9. Pappi persistent or tardily falling
Viguiera
Source FNA vol. 21, p. 135.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Heliantheae
Subordinate taxa
Bahiopsis, Helianthus, Heliomeris, Lagascea, Sclerocarpus, Simsia, Tithonia, Viguiera
Synonyms subtribe Lagasceinae
Name authority Cassini ex Dumortier: Fl. Belg., 71. (1827)
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