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Bitter Sneezeweed

Helenium amarum (Raf.) H. Rock

Asteraceae (Aster Family)

 

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Helenium amarum (Raf.) H. Rock., Bitter Sneezeweed:  (Bayer Code:  HENAM; US Code HEAM)

·         U.S. native, summer annual with green, ridged stems that grows 0.3 to 3 feet tall, usually with a single main stem, and branching only in the upper portions of the plant (stems are not winged)

·         Leaves are linear (sometimes broader at base of plant), sometimes pinnately lobed into linear lobes, but upper stem leaves are usually unlobed and linear

·         Head inflorescences have 8-10 yellow ray flowers (“petals”); ray flowers have several notches on their tips

·         Near 100 or more yellow disk flowers in the center form a globe-shaped structure

·         Flowering in late summer to early autumn, and is a common site in over-grazed pastures, roadsides when in bloom; tolerant of drier, less fertile soils

·         Is poisonous to livestock, if grazed; but usually avoided due to bitter taste

·         Causes bitter milk in grazing cows and can be toxic, if grazed heavily

 

 

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