Plant of the Week - Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale)

Sneezeweed (Helenium autmnale)

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view) 

 

Oops!  I posted the plant of the week on my "A Tallgrass Journal" blog site last week but forgot my art site...well here it is -

 

Sneezeweed - bless you!  Well, not really!  There's no pollen in the breeze and sneezing affected as such with this prairie forb...I always wondered why it got this name and the one place I found with a "story" behind the name was in the book "Restoring the Tallgrass Prairie" by Shirley Shirley, a University of Iowa Press publication...a book with some good info on germination and seed I might add.  Shirley Shirley mentions the use of this plant's leaves - dried and made into snuff "cause sneezing and supposedly ridding the body of evil spirits or clearing congestion.  Considered a good tonic by the pioneers."  So there ya go!

 

Sneezeweed (Helenium autmnale) with Monarch

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view)

This forb is listed as most commonly found on moist prairies and sites...on our property it exists on a hillside slope that isn't too terribly moist so it may be found in a variety of conditions.  It is one that needs full sun for the most part so ours fits that condition.
 

 Sneezeweed (Helenium autmnale) with native flies and bees

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view) 

 

Sneezeweed is a late summer/early fall forb here, usually showing up with the flush of goldenrods and the beginning of asters.  And it is a great pollinator plant - attracting bees, wasps, butterflies and flies of all kinds!  It is said to cause "issues" with livestock grazing so that is something to be aware of if it occurs in grazed pastures - this would also make it a dominant forb in such a situation as livestock would tend to avoid it.

Catch the August bloomers while they're still with us - Sneezeweed, the goldenrods and the asters will be with us well into September though!