Bitterweed (Helenium amarum)

August 7th, 2014

Bitterweed (Helenium amarum)

Greene County, GA

Bitterweed plants line the roadsides in many areas and bloom throughout even the driest time of the year.

Bitterweed (Helenium amarum)

Helenium amarum is known by the common names Bitterweed. Bitter Sneezeweed, Yellow Sneezeweed, and Yellowdicks. It grows widely in this area. In some cases it grows along the roadside but in other areas may have spread to cover a field. It begins to bloom in mid June and bloom until late Fall.

The plants can cover a field, given time.

Individual plants: relatively young but established.

Individual plants: older and larger. These may stand about 24 inches tall.

Some simply grow among other plants.

The stems and leaves.

A flower, straight on.

A flower, side on.

A flower, back side.

Late in the season all the florets have opened and the ‘flower’ is going to seed.

Helenium amarum (Bitterweed) is native to the United States. It grows in the eastern United States and California.
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Distribution Map:
- United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database: Helenium amarum (Yellowdicks)
- University of North Carolina Herbarium: Helenium amarum

Identification resources:
- Southeastern Flora: Bitterweed (Helenium amarum)
- Natural and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Helenium amarum (Bitterweed)
- Missouri Plants: Helenium amarum

Related posts:
- 2010: Year Of The Wildflower – Wildflower Index