Helianthus paradoxus, also known as the Pecos sunflower, is a threatened species of sunflower found in very limited habitats in salt marshes in Texas, Utah and New Mexico. Helianthus paradoxus is part of the secondary genepool of Helianthus annuus, which means that it can be bred with cultivated sunflower to produce some fertile offspring, though some reproductive barriers exist.
The main trait of interest possessed by Helianthus paradoxus is salt tolerance. Helianthus paradoxus is thought to have become a new species through the hybridization of the common sunflower (Helianthus annuus) and the prairie sunflower (Helianthus petiolaris), when it became adapted to extremely saline marshes. [1] The genetic traits that allow Helianthus paradoxus to thrive in salt marshes could be of use in breeding improved, sunflower varieties for cultivation in areas with saline soils.
