Small – whorled sunflower – Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee Formerly included The following species were previously included in the genus Helianthus. Flourensia thurifera (Molina) DC. (as H. thurifer Molina) Helianthella quinquenervis (Hook.) A.Gray (as H. quinquenervis Hook.) Helianthella uniflora (Nutt.) Torr. & A.Gray (as H. uniflorus Nutt.) Pappobolus imbaburensis (Hieron.) Panero (as H. imbaburensis Hieron.) Viguiera procumbens (Pers.) S.F.Blake (as H. procumbens Pers.) Uses The seeds of H. annuus are used as human food. Most cultivars of sunflower are variants of H. annuus, but four other species (all perennials) are also domesticated. This includes H. tuberosus, the Jerusalem artichoke, which produces edible tubers. There are many species in the sunflower genus Helianthus, and many species in other genera that may be called sunflowers. The Maximillian sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani) is one of 38 species of perennial sunflower native to North America. The Land Institute and other breeding programs are currently exploring the potential for these as a perennial seed crop. The sunchoke (Jerusalem artichoke or Helianthus tuberosus) is related to the sunflower, another example of perennial sunflower. The Mexican sunflower is Tithonia rotundifolia. It is only very distantly related to North American sunflowers. False sunflower refers to plants of the genus Heliopsis. Ecology Sunflowers have been proven to be excellent plants to attract beneficial insects, including pollinators. Helianthus spp. are a nectar producing flowering plant that attract pollinators and parasitoids which reduce the pest populations in nearby crop vegetation. Sunflowers attract different beneficial pollinators (e.g., honey bees) and other known insect prey to feed on and control the population of parasitic pests that could be harmful to the crops. Predacious insects are first attracted to sunflowers once they are planted. Once the Helianthus spp. reaches six inches and produces flowers it begins to attract more pollinators. Distance between sunflower rows and crop vegetation plays an important role in this phenomenon, hypothesizing that closer proximity to the crops will increase insect attraction. In addition to pollinators of Helianthus spp., there are other factors such as abiotic stress, florivory, and disease which also contribute to the evolution of floral traits. These selective pressures, which stem from several biotic and abiotic factors are associated with habitat environmental conditions which all play a role in the overall morphology of the sunflowers’ floral traits. An ecosystem is composed of both biotic (which are living elements of an ecosystem such as plants, animals, fungi, protists, and bacteria), and