Smooth oxeye
The plant is sometimes called false sunflower.
By LYNN ARTZ, SANDY TEDDER and DAVID RODDENBERRY
The bright yellow flowers of smooth oxeye (Heliopsis helianthoides) cheerfully greet visitors at the entrance to Sopchoppy Depot Park. This undemanding plant grows 3-5 feet tall by 1-3 feet wide in full to part sun in moist to dry, sandy soil. Resembling a small yellow sunflower, it is sometimes called false sunflower or oxeye sunflower. Like sunflowers, smooth oxeye is a wonderful wildflower for butterflies and bees, including one specialist pollinator ground nesting bee. Other insects attracted to smooth oxeye include hoverflies and soldier beetles. Songbirds eat the seeds. Smooth oxeye is more common in states north of Florida but is found in the wild in panhandle counties. This showy wildflower blooms from late spring through late summer and is well suited to a wildflower or butterfly garden.