SNEEZE WEED
Helenium amarum

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CLICK PICTURES FOR LARGER VIEW DESCRIPTION Sneezeweeds are native to North America and are in the sunflower family. There are several sneezeweed species, including amarum, which is found in North Alabama. Sneezeweeds have yellow ray petals like other sunflowers but have a wedge shape, widest at the tips. The tips have 3 lobes. The leaves of the amarum species are alternate and made up of very narrow finely divided thread-like leaves. This gives the plant one of its common names, "fine-leaved sneezeweed". Another common name for amarum is "bitter sneezeweed" or "bitterweed" because of its bitter taste. The plant contains chemicals that are poisonous but do not cause sneezing or cause hay fever. The amarum species also differs from the other sneezeweeds by having a flower with a yellow center. Sneezeweeds produce numerous attractive flowers over a long period of time starting in early summer. For this reason cultivars have been produced for gardeners. They can be raised from seed. More Sneeze Weed Images Return to Summer Index