Golden Sunflower

This short flower grows up to 3 inches (8 cm) tall. Its green stem is very thick and splits into 10 branching stems at the base, and the huge, yellow leaves are spear shaped with rounded edges. The leaves alternate on the stem from about halfway up, up to the flower head.

Dozens of small flowers grow in a bunch at the end of the stem. The flowers are 1 cm (0.4 inches) wide, with petals that are either gold or hazel, with a yellow center. The flower head is shaped like a bowl made up of many tightly layered, narrow petals. They detach easily.

It has a weak scent that smells like warm cookies, and it has a fair amount of pollen; it can cause allergic reactions. It is a self-pollinator, but is also particularly attractive to bees.