Smooth Oxeye
Heliopsis helianthoides
49
Good
Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 3–6 feet
- Spread
- 2–4 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
Space about 3 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 11 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- Summer and fall
- Fruiting season
- Fall
Recorded in 39 Alabama counties.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 123 animals.
- Common GrackleQuiscalus quiscula
- Eastern TowheePipilo erythrophthalmus
- Eastern Wood-peweeContopus virens
- GadwallAnas strepera
- Golden-winged WarblerVermivora chrysoptera
- Great Crested FlycatcherMyiarchus crinitus
- Hermit ThrushCatharus guttatus
- Hooded WarblerWilsonia citrina
- Indigo BuntingPasserina cyanea
- Least BitternIxobrychus exilis
- Least FlycatcherEmpidonax minimus
- Orchard OrioleIcterus spurius
- OvenbirdSeiurus aurocapilla
- Pileated WoodpeckerDryocopus pileatus
- Red-bellied WoodpeckerMelanerpes carolinus
- Red-shouldered HawkButeo lineatus
- Ruby-throated HummingbirdArchilochus colubris
- Ruddy DuckOxyura jamaicensis
- Scarlet TanagerPiranga olivacea
- Snowy EgretEgretta thula
- SoraPorzana carolina
- Swainson's WarblerLimnothlypis swainsonii
- VeeryCatharus fuscescens
- White-eyed VireoVireo griseus
Care
- Optional bloom tip: Removing spent flowers can prolong blooming.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
2CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Heliopsis
- Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
- Synchlora frondariaSouthern Emerald
22BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Heliopsis
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
10Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Heliopsis
- Andrena aliciae
- Andrena rudbeckiae
- Megachile inimica
- Megachile pugnata
- Melissodes desponsus
- Melissodes illatus
- Melissodes subillatus
- Melissodes trinodis
- Paranthidium jugatorium
- Protandrena albitarsis
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claimFlies 5
- Anthrax halcyon
- Exoprosopa fasciata
- Exoprosopa fascipennis
- Geron rufipes
- Systoechus vulgaris
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Adult butterflies / moths 3
- Pholisora catullus
- Phyciodes tharos
- Pontia protodice
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Other wasps 3
- Bembix spinolae
- Sphex nigricans
- Sphex vulgaris
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Other insects 1
- Lygaeus turcicus
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
No records yet · Ants · Beetles
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 3a–9b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to neutral
- Flower color
- Brown/copper, yellow or orange
- Fruit begins
- Fall
- Fruit ends
- Fall
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Summer and fall” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs)
- Flower color · “Brown/copper, yellow or orange” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs)
- Fruit begins · “Fall” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox · Species profile fruit display season; not a local ripening date
- Fruit ends · “Fall” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox · Species profile fruit display season; not a local ripening date
- Hardiness · “Zones 3a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “3–6 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Soil · “Good drainage; Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “2–4 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | Not available |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Choose a county to begin.
Growing cautions
- Self-seeds. Can self-sow, form colonies and become weedy in landscapes. NC State Extension Plant Toolbox
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications