Helianthus bolanderi is a species of sunflower known by the common names serpentine sunflower and Bolander's sunflower. It is native to California and Oregon, where it grows mainly in mountainous areas, often in serpentine soils. This wild sunflower is an erect annual reaching heights over a meter. It has a hairy, rough stem with leaves lance- or oval-shaped, usually pointed, sometimes serrated along the edges, and 3 to 15 centimeters long. The flower cluster holds one or more flower heads, and each plant may have many flower clusters growing along the full length of the stem. The flower head has a cup of long, pointed phyllaries holding an array of bright yellow ray florets each one to two centimeters long around a center of yellow to dark purple or reddish disc florets. The achene is 3 to 5 millimeters long.