Go to Midwest Weeds and Wildflowers Home Page

Common Sneezeweed

Helenium autumnale L.

Asteraceae (Aster Family)

(updated January 21, 2021)

▲▼ mature flowering plants

▲▼ flowers

▲ some flowers showing seed formation and dispersal (brown heads)

▲ winged stems

Helenium autumnale L., Common Sneezeweed:  (Bayer Code:  HENAU; US Code HEAU)

·         U.S. native simple perennial with green stems that grows 3-5 feet tall, with little branching except in upper portions of stem as flowering begins

·         Stems have leafy wings along their length

·         Leaves are narrow, lanceolate, with slightly toothed margins

·         Head inflorescences are about 1-1.5 inches in diameter, with 8-21 yellow ray florets (“petals”); ray flowers have several notches on their tips

·         Several hundred yellow disk flowers in the center form a globe-shaped structure

·         Flowering from mid-summer through autumn

·         Is poisonous to livestock, if grazed, but usually avoided if other vegetation is available; sheep are most sensitive to toxicity

·         Prefers wetter soils and is common in riparian areas, wetland margins

Go to Midwest Weeds and Wildflowers Home Page