Sneezeweeds | |
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Helenium autumnale | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Asterales |
Family: | Asteraceae |
Subfamily: | Asteroideae |
Tribe: | Helenieae |
Subtribe: | Gaillardiinae |
Genus: | Helenium L. 1753 not Mill. 1754 [1] |
Synonyms [2] | |
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Helenium is a genus of annuals and herbaceous perennial plants in the family Asteraceae, native to the Americas. [3] [4]
They bear yellow or orange daisy-like composite flowers. A number of these species (particularly Helenium autumnale ) have the common name sneezeweed, based on the former use of their dried leaves in making snuff. It was inhaled to cause sneezing that would supposedly rid the body of evil spirits. Larger species may grow up to 2 metres (6.6 ft) tall. [5]
The genus is named for Helen of Troy, daughter of Zeus and Leda. [6] [7]
Helenium species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Phymatopus behrensii .
Genus level properties: most conspicuously globe-like disk-shaped flowers, rays three-lobed at tip.
Numerous cultivars have been developed for garden use - mainly from H. autumnale and H. bigelovii. They are useful for late summer and fall bloom, usually in less formal compositions. They are appropriate for native gardens in areas where they are indigenous, and they look wonderfully in bouquets. Annual species are easily grown from seed, and perennials should be divided every year in order to retain their vigor. The soil should be fertile with a generous amount of organic manner in the form of compost, manure or other decayed organic matter in addition to, perhaps, an application of a complete fertilizer in spring. Heleniums should be grown in full sun average to moist soil with good drainage. They are drought tolerant, but should be watered on planting and regularly until established.
The following have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:- [10]
The UK National Collection of heleniums is located at Yew Tree House, Hall Lane, Hankelow. near Audlem in Cheshire. [24] [25]
Penstemon, the beardtongues, is a large genus of roughly 280 species of flowering plants native to North America from northern Canada to Central America. It is the largest genus of flowering plants endemic to North America. As well as being the scientific name, penstemon is also widely used as a common name for all Penstemon species alongside beardtongues.
Agave americana, commonly known as the century plant, maguey, or American aloe, is a flowering plant species belonging to the family Asparagaceae. It is native to Mexico and the United States, specifically Texas. This plant is widely cultivated worldwide for its ornamental value and has become naturalized in various regions, including Southern California, the West Indies, South America, the Mediterranean Basin, Africa, the Canary Islands, India, China, Thailand, and Australia.
Berberis, commonly known as barberry, is a large genus of deciduous and evergreen shrubs from 1–5 m (3.3–16.4 ft) tall, found throughout temperate and subtropical regions of the world. Species diversity is greatest in South America and Asia; Europe, Africa and North America have native species as well. The best-known Berberis species is the European barberry, Berberis vulgaris, which is common in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and central Asia, and has been widely introduced in North America. Many of the species have spines on the shoots and all along the margins of the leaves.
Dasylirion wheeleri is a species of flowering plant in the asparagus family (Asparagaceae), native to arid environments of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States.
Hymenoxys is a genus of plants in the sunflower family, native to North and South America. It was named by Alexandre Henri Gabriel de Cassini in 1828.
Helenium autumnale is a North American species of poisonous flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Common names include common sneezeweed and large-flowered sneezeweed.
Helenium bigelovii is a North American perennial plant in the sunflower family, commonly known as Bigelow's sneezeweed. It grows in moist areas such as meadows, marshes, or streamsides. It is found at moderate and higher elevations (3000–10,000 ft) in the foothills and mountains of California and Oregon: Cascades, Coast Ranges, Klamath Mountains, Sierra Nevada, etc. Cultivars of the species are used in gardening as ornamentals.
Helenium amarum is a species of annual herb in the daisy family known by the common names yellowdicks, yellow sneezeweed, fiveleaf sneezeweed, and bitter sneezeweed. It is native to much of the south-central United States and northern Mexico, and it is present elsewhere in North America, Australia, and the West Indies as an introduced species.
Helenium bolanderi is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name coastal sneezeweed. It is native to southern Oregon and northern California as far south as Mendocino County, primarily along the seacoast.
Artemisia ludoviciana is a North American species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae, known by several common names, including silver wormwood, western mugwort, Louisiana wormwood, white sagebrush, lobed cud-weed, prairie sage, and gray sagewort.
Hymenoxys hoopesii is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common names owl's claws, orange sneezeweed, and yerba del lobo. It is native to the western United States, where it grows in habitats of moderate elevation, such as mountain meadows in the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, southern Cascades, and other ranges. It has been found from Arizona, New Mexico, and central California north as far as Montana and Oregon.
Cyclamen persicum, the Persian cyclamen, is a species of flowering herbaceous perennial plant growing from a tuber, native to rocky hillsides, shrubland, and woodland up to 1,200 m (3,900 ft) above sea level, from south-central Turkey to the Levant. It also grows in Algeria and Tunisia and on the Greek islands of Rhodes, Karpathos, and Crete, where it may have been introduced by monks. Cultivars of this species are the commonly seen florist's cyclamen.
Helenium virginicum is a rare species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name Virginia sneezeweed. It occurs in the United States, where it has a disjunct distribution; it is known only from Virginia and Missouri. It is limited to a specific type of habitat and it is threatened by modification of this habitat. It was federally listed as a threatened species of the United States in 1998.
Echinocereus subinermis is a species of flowering plant in the cactus family Cactaceae, native to north, northwestern, and central Mexico.
Carphochaete bigelovii, common name Bigelow's bristlehead, is a species of North American flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. They are native to northern Mexico and the southwestern United States.
Helenium brevifolium is a North American perennial plant in the sunflower family, commonly known as shortleaf sneezeweed. It is native to the southeastern United States, from Virginia to eastern Louisiana and inland as far as Tennessee.
Helenium microcephalum is a North American perennial plant in the family Asteraceae, commonly known as smallhead sneezeweed. It is found in the southwestern and south-central United States and northern Mexico.
Helenium pinnatifidum is a North American perennial plant in the sunflower family, commonly known as southeastern sneezeweed. It is found in the southeaster United States.
Helenium thurberi is a North American plant in the sunflower family, commonly known as Thurber's sneezeweed. It is native to Mexico and the southwestern United States (Arizona).
Helenium vernale is a North American species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name Savanna sneezeweed or spring sneezeweed. It is native to the southeastern United States, from Louisiana to the Carolinas.