Helianthus niveus
species of plant

Helianthus niveus is a species of sunflower known by the common names showy sunflower and snowy sunflower. It is native to northern Mexico (Sonora, Baja California, Baja California Sur) and the Southwestern United States (Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, and West Texas).
Helianthus niveus is a taprooted annual or perennial sunflower growing to a maximum height over 1 m (40 in). The leaves are oval or lance-shaped, often with irregular lobes or teeth, and are covered in soft, white hairs. The flower heads are fringed with 13-21 bright yellow ray florets up to 2.5 cm (1 in) long surrounding a center of yellow to purple-red disc florets.
Habitat
H. niveus grows in sandy soils, most often in sand dunes.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Helianthus niveus” is species of plant. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Helianthus, niveus and species, not as a finished interpretation.
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The phrase “species of plant” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 2, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q5704877. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Helianthus niveus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.