While the impressively large garden sunflowers are well past their August peak, a local native Helianthus is just now coming into its own. I really should venture into my neighbor's meadow and take one of the plants home to examine its floral and leaf structure in detail—I don't think they'd mind—but for reasons that have more to do with laziness than anything else, I've always been content to just enjoy these tall and stately sun-catchers from the vantage point of the road. They're giants—at least ten feet tall with a multi-petaled blossom some three inches across. According to the authoritative and wonderful Go Botany website, there are about 15 species of Helianthus possible in New England, and if I had to make a guess from the photo alone and the fact that most of the leaves seem to be arranged in alternate fashion up the stems, I'd put it in the Giant Sunflower camp, a.k.a. H. giganteus. But I can do better than idle speculation... I really can. While the sunflowers are gracing the meadow, I need to grace them with a proper name.