Ijams has your yellow composites. Lots of them!

A sunflower species

Oh. Those yellow composites! A central disk surrounded by rays of yellow petals. Gee willikers! 


And you think identifying sparrows is tough. These two photos are sunflowers, but which ones?  UT Herbarium lists 20 species of native sunflowers in our state, all in the genus Helianthus. 


And then there's the tickseeds (Coreopsis)—there's seven species—and wingstem and yellow crownbeard and leafcup and black- and brown-eyed Susans. All yellow composites. Yellow. Yellow. Yellow. 


And then there are the goldenrods—don't get me started—37 species in Tennessee. They're not composites, but they are yellow. 


There are several yellow composites and goldenrods in bloom along the Ijams trails and Will Skeleton Greenway. 


-Story and photos by Stephen Lyn Bales

A sunflower species (perhaps Jerusalem artichoke)