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Bitter Sneezeweed

Helenium amarum

Other common name(s):

Yellow Sneezeweed, Bitterweed, Yellow Bitterweed, Yellowdicks, Slender-leaved Sneezeweed, Fine-leaved Sneezweed, Yellow Dog-fennel

Family:

Asteraceae (Aster Family)

Plant Ecoregion Distribution Map

Central Great Plains, Chihuahuan Deserts, Cross Timbers, East Central Texas Plains, Edwards Plateau, Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes, High Plains, Southern Texas Plains, Texas Blackland Prairies, Western Gulf Coastal Plain
Broken Red Plains, Limestone Plains, Red Prairie
Chihuahuan Desert Grasslands, Chihuahuan Montane Woodlands, Low Mountains and Bajadas, Stockton Plateau
Carbonate Cross Timbers, Eastern Cross Timbers, Grand Prairie, Limestone Cut Plain, Western Cross Timbers
Bastrop Lost Pines, Floodplains and Low Terraces2, Northern Post Oak Savanna, Northern Prairie Outliers, San Antonio Prairie, Southern Post Oak Savanna
Balcones Canyonlands, Edwards Plateau Woodland, Llano Uplift
Floodplains and Low Terraces4, Laguna Madre Barrier Island and Coastal Marshes, Mid-Coast Barrier Islands and Coastal Marshes, Northern Humid Gulf Coastal Prairies, Southern Subhumid Gulf Coastal Prairies, Texas-Louisiana Coastal Marshes
Canadian/Cimarron High Plains, Llano Estacado, Rolling Sand Plains, Shinnery Sands
Texas-Tamaulipan Thornscrub
Floodplains and Low Terraces1, Northern Blackland Prairie, Southern Blackland Prairie
Flatwoods, Floodplains and Low Terraces3, Pleistocene Fluvial Terraces, Red River Bottomlands, Southern Tertiary Uplands, Tertiary Uplands

Plant Characteristics

Growth Form

Herbaceous

Height

1
to
3
ft.

Spread

1
to
1
ft.

Leaf Retention

Deciduous

Lifespan

Annual

Habitat and Care Requirements

Soil Type(s)

Sand, Loam, Gravelly, Limestone, Well Drained, Dry

Light Requirement

Part Shade

Water Requirement

Low

Native Habitat

Grassland, Woodland

Bloom and Attraction

Bloom Color

Yellow

Bloom Season

Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall

Seasonal Interest

Nectar, Pollen

Wildlife Benefit

Butterflies, Nectar Insects, Bees

Maintenance

Drought tolerant. Easily grown in dry to medium, sandy to gravelly, well-drained soils. Can be mowed. Foliage is susceptible to powdery mildew, leaf spot and rust. Propagation: easily self seeds.

Comments

Blooms February-December. Upright, aromatic, bushy annual. Stems covered with almost-threadlike leaves, with resinous glands. Yellow daisy-like flowers Commonly found in prairies, open woods/savannas, fields, and waste places, especially in sandy soil. Attracts: bees.

References

1) https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=HEAM; 2) https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=36007#null; 3) https://portal.torcherbaria.org/portal/taxa/index.php?taxon=Helenium+amarum&formsubmit=Search+Terms; 4) http://bonap.net/TDC/Image/Map?taxonType=Species&taxonId=3260&locationType=County&mapType=Normal; 5) https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=277197

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State Office Phone: 830.997.9272

State Office Address:
Native Plant Society of Texas
PO Box 3017
Fredericksburg, TX 78624

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