Wild Flowers East of the Rockies 383 



SNEEZEWEED (Helenium autumnale) is a beauti- 

 ful, rather odd, plant that brightens meadows and 

 swamps during August and Sept. The stem is rather 

 stout, smooth and branching; it ascends from 2 to 6 

 feet. Alternating along the stem, are numerous 

 ovate, pointed, sharply-toothed, bright green leaves, 

 short-stemmed and strongly veined. 



It is the blossoms that attract our attention for, 

 besides being very handsome, they are unusual in 

 form. The hemispherical center is composed of close- 

 ly packed tubular florets and is surrounded by a num- 

 be: of broad, toothed, golden-yellow rays; the heads 

 li^ve an expanse of 1 to 2 inches. Both the tubular 

 and the yellow, pistillate rays are fertile. The flow- 

 ers are frequented by numbers of various kinds of 

 bees and many small butterflies. The disc florets 

 secrete an abundance of nectar in their tubes. 



Although this plant has little odor, the foliage is 

 very bitter and cattle soon learn to avoid the leaves. 

 Sneezeweed or "Swamp Sunflower" is common along 

 brooks, river banks and in wet ground generally, 

 from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 



TANSY; BITTER BUTTONS (Tanacetum vulgare) 

 (EUROPEAN) is one of those lusty, foreign plants 

 that take so kindly to our soil and climate that they 

 try to over-run the country. This species is abundant 

 everywhere about houses and along roads, from the 

 Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains, and is gradually ex- 

 tending its range towards the Pacific. 



The foliage is very bitter and is the foundation of 

 many an old fashioned remedy. The flowers grow in 

 flat-topped clusters and are composed of round discs, 

 or "buttons," of tubular florets only. It is a species 

 not to be mistaken; it has an appearance, an odor 

 and a taste of its own. It blooms from July until the 

 end of September. 



