Two orange Tithonia rotundifolia flower heads have raised yellow discs on slender hairy green stalks against dark foliage

Tithonia rotundifolia (Mexican Sunflower)

Name: Tithonia rotundifolia (Mexican Sunflower)
Address: CO

Native to Mexico and Central America, this bushy annual herb in the daisy family usually grows about 5 to 7 feet tall. Its hairy green leaves range from broadly oval to three-lobed. Reddish-orange flower heads about 3 inches across have yellow-orange centers and grow singly on soft, hollow stalks. The flowers attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. It can self-seed. It has naturalized in Colombia and is invasive in South Africa, particularly Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and North West. Photographed in Colombia.

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An orange Tithonia rotundifolia flower head has broad rounded ray florets and a small yellow star-shaped disc among green leaves

Orange Tithonia rotundifolia ray florets curve around a tall cluster of yellow-orange disc florets above a green stalk

An orange Tithonia rotundifolia flower head shows patches of sunlight across broad ray florets and a yellow central disc

An orange Tithonia rotundifolia flower head has overlapping ray florets around a dense golden disc against blue-green foliage

Broad orange Tithonia rotundifolia ray florets encircle upright yellow disc florets with green stems behind the flower head

An orange Tithonia rotundifolia flower head with a dense gold-brown disc appears against dark green leaves

Tithonia rotundifolia orange flower head with yellow disc florets