Helianthus devernii

Helianthus devernii
Side view of the flower
Conservation status
Critically Imperiled  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Genus:	Helianthus
Species:	H. devernii
Binomial name
Helianthus devernii T.M.Draper

Helianthus devernii is a North American species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae, known by the common name Red Rock sunflower. The perennial herbaceous plant is endemic to a portion of Nevada's Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area measuring less than 1 acre (4,000 m²), where it grows in just two desert spring locations within the Mojave Desert.

The plant reaches up to 102 cm (40 in) in height. Its leaves tend toward the grass-like shape, with a single prominent vein, and alternate up the stem. The flower heads feature 5-8 yellow apparent petals—ray florets—surrounding a larger number of disk florets; the seeds are 3.5–4.0 mm (0.14–0.16 in) long. H. devernii can be distinguished from the closely related helianthus cusickii by its shorter ray petals and single-veined leaves, and genetic evidence indicates it is most closely related to helianthus pumilus. With a total known population of 725 individuals in a very small area of distribution that is also subject to a variety of threats, the species is considered critically imperiled. Conservation efforts are underway as of 2024.