Elecampane

(Inula helenium)

 

Color photograph: Homer D. House. 1918. Wildflowers of New York.

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

Elecampane (Inula helenium)

Alien: Native of Europe.

Identification: Flowers large, yellow, with numerous scraggly ray florets. Flower bracts broad, large. Leaves broad, woolly on the underside, and with a toothed outer margin. Base of leaf sessile with the stem, clasping it. Flower stems arising from junction of leaf base and stem. Plant 2 to 6 feet in height.

Distribution: Most of eastern North America except for the southeastern United States. Also found in the Pacific Coast states.

Habitat: Elecampane is an introduced weed found in woodland clearings, forest margins, and along roadsides.

Flowering period: July to September.

 

Elecampane (Inula helenium)

Similar Species:

The scraggly appearance of the large yellow flower in combination with the large, broad, clasping leaves readily identify this species.

Similar Species

No Similar Species