Helianthus eggertii eng

    Helianthus eggertii, known as Eggert's sunflower, is a North American species of flowering plants in the sunflower family. It is native to Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Alabama. It is best known as one of the few plants to have been delisted under the Endangered Species Act because of the species' recovery. It was described by John Kunkel Small in 1903. Helianthus eggertii was originally listed as an endangered species by the US federal government in 1997 under the Endangered Species Act. A number of conservation measures were therefore instituted to protect the species.
 

    Helianthus eggertii may grow to over 2 m (6 ft 7 in) tall, with erect, hairless stems. The leaves are borne on the stem, mostly in opposite pairs. These leaves are lanceolate to ovate, 70–165 mm (2.8–6.5 in) long by 15–35 mm (0.59–1.38 in) wide, narrowing towards the base. Each stem carries 1–5 flower heads, each on a peduncle 1–4 cm (0.39–1.57 in) long. Each flower head is 10–25 mm (0.39–0.98 in) in diameter, with 30–38 lanceolate phyllaries around the base. The flower head is hemispherical, and contains 10–18 yellow ray florets surrounding over 70 disc florets.

   Helianthus eggertii is very similar to the related species H. strumosus and H. laevigatus. It differs from those species in that its stems are distinctively blue-colored, and its leaves have only one vein, rather than three veins, as is typical for the genus.