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 Illinois. 



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. 



The blooming season is 

 June to September. The heads 

 are few and sometimes there 

 is only i. The oblong bracts 

 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 

 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. 



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 off 

 nearly straight. The pappus is 2-4 short teeth or may be absent. The 

 flowering time is July to September. 



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