COMPOSITE FAMILY COMPOSITAE 
ROUGH OXEYE 
Heliopsis scabra Dunal 
The Rough Oxeye grows in dry or not too low open places” 
from Maine to Manitoba and south to New Jersey, Arkansas and 
New Mexico. This is a perennial which is said to be rather rare - 
in the east, but it is common 
in I]linois. | 
The stem, 2-4 feet high, is 
either branched or not and — 
is rough, at least toward the 
top. The leaves are ovate or 
ovate-lanceolate, 2-5 inches 
long, sharply toothed, acute 
or acuminate, firm, abruptly — 
narrowed at the base into - 
short petioles, and are rough 
on both sides. q 
The blooming season is 
‘/\ June to September. The heads — 
/¢ \\ are few and sometimes there 
///.| is only 1. The oblong bracts — 
f of the involucre are arranged 
in 2 or 3 series, are unequal 
in length and covered with 
short whitish hairs. The re- 
ceptacle is somewhat cone 
t shaped and its chaff envel- 
opes the disk flowers. Both 
the pistillate rays and the 
perfect disk flowers produce akenes, and both are yellow. The 
akenes are thick, 3 or 4-angled and somewhat hairy on the 
margins, at least when young. The pappus consists of I or more 
short teeth. 4 
The Oxeye or False Sunflower, Heliopsis helianthoides (L.) 
Sweet, is found in open places throughout Illinois although it is not 
as common as the Rough Oxeye. The two are quite similar but the 
stem of the False Sunflower is smooth and the leaves are thin and 
smooth or nearly so. Very rarely the leaves occur in threes instead of 
being opposite. The akenes are smooth and their tips are cut of 
nearly straight. The pappus is 2-4 short teeth or may be absent. The 
flowering time is July to September. : 
362 
