Helenium amarum

Family:ASTERACEAE
Species:Helenium amarum (Raf.) H. Rock
Common Name:Bitterweed; Yellowdicks; Five Leaf Sneezeweed; Spanish Daisy
Habitat:Disturbed soils.
Associated Ecological Communities:**
Growth Habit:Herb
Duration:Annual
Category:Vascular
USDA Symbol:HEAM
Plant Notes:Bitterweed is a native herbaceous annual species in the Sunflower family (Asteraceae). It occurs throughout Alabama. Bitterweed grows in disturbed areas such as on roadsides, in urban areas, and in fields and pastures. It is an annual with a tap root. Stems are erect, usually branched, green in color, and glabrous or slightly pubescent. Leaves are alternate, sessile, linear in outline, entire or with a few small teeth, and glabrous or with a few hairs. The lower stem leaves are often withered at flowering. All parts of the plants release an unpleasant odor when damaged. Flowers are produced in heads. The heads are arranged in paniculiform arrays. Each head has 8-10 yellow ray flowers and 75-250 yellow disc flowers. The fruit is an achene. The common name is in reference to this plant causing milk to taste bitter when cows graze on the foliage. A large population of Bitterweed in a pasture is often a sign of overgrazing. Bitterweed is an easy to grow annual that is tolerant of poor soils and dry conditions. It can be used for borders, rock gardens, and for xeriscape gardening. It has an extended blooming period and is an important pollinator plant, attracting butterflies, sweat bees, native wasps, and beetles. All parts of the plant contain the glycoside gudaldin and can cause toxic symptoms. A decoction of the entire plan was used to make “Bitterweed Tea”, a folk remedy for intestinal worms.—A. Diamond.
Taxonomic Notes:**
Status:Native, FACU- (NWI)
References:**
Specimen: View specimen details in the Alabama Herbarium Consortium Specimen Database

** Not applicable or data not available.

Classification

FamilyASTERACEAE - Aster family
Genus Helenium
Species Helenium amarum (Raf.) H. Rock - Bitterweed; Yellowdicks; Five Leaf Sneezeweed; Spanish Daisy

Citation

Citation Helenium amarum (Rafinesque) H. Rock, Rhodora 59(702): 131. 1957.
Basionym: Gaillardia amara Raf. 1817.
Type: USA: LOUISIANA: Rapides Par.: Alexandria, 6 Sep 1898, Ball 182 (neotype: US). Neotypified by H. Rock, Rhodora 59: 131. 1957.

** Not applicable or data not available.

Synonyms

SynonymFull CitationBasionymType
Gaillardia amara Gaillardia amara Rafinesque, Fl. Ludov. 69. 1817. LOUISIANA: Rapides Par.: Alexandria, 6 Sep 1898, Ball 182 (neotype: US). Neotypified by H. Rock, Rhodora 59: 131. 1957.
Heleniastrum tenuifolium Heleniastrum tenuifolium (Nuttall) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 1: 342. 1891.Helenium tenuifolium Nuttall 1834. 
Helenium tenuifolium Helenium tenuifolium Nuttall, J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 7: 66. 1834. ALABAMA: Without data, Beck s.n. (lectotype: PH). Lectotypified by Bierner, Sida 13: 457. 1989.

Specimens and Distribution

This species has been reported in the following counties by the herbaria listed. An overview of the individual specimens are provided in the table that follows. Click on the accession number to view details; click on column headers to sort; choose a county or herbaria to filter the specimen data.

Counties included on distribution map: Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bibb, Blount, Bullock, Butler, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton, Choctaw, Clarke, Clay, Cleburne, Coffee, Colbert, Conecuh, Coosa, Covington, Crenshaw, Cullman, Dale, Dallas, DeKalb, Elmore, Escambia, Etowah, Fayette, Franklin, Geneva, Greene, Hale, Henry, Houston, Jackson, Jefferson, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lee, Limestone, Lowndes, Macon, Madison, Marengo, Marion, Marshall, Mobile, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Randolph, Russell, Shelby, St. Clair, Sumter, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, Walker, Wilcox, Winston

Counties represented by specimen data listed below:

Herbaria represented by specimen data listed below: ALNHS, AMAL, AUA, JSU, SAMF, TROY, UNA, USAM, UWAL

Range of years during which specimens were collected: 1949 - 2023

Barcode / Accession No.
County
Coll. Date
Collector &
Collection No.
Herbarium &
Herbarium Name Used
Image
AUA000004188 Autauga 15 Jul 1970 MOORE, HAROLD D.
382
AUA
HELENIUM AMARUM (RAF.) H. ROCK
AUA000004187 Autauga 13 Aug 1982 GUNN, SCOTT C.
1008
AUA
HELENIUM AMARUM (RAF.) H. ROCK
AMAL00003016 Autauga 07 Sep 2002 Spaulding, Daniel D.
11566
AMAL
Helenium amarum (Raf.) H. Rock
UNA00059509 Autauga 07 Sep 2002 Spaulding, Daniel D.
11566
UNA
Helenium amarum (Raf.) H. Rock
TROY000015701 Autauga 07 Sep 2002 Spaulding, Daniel D.
11566
TROY
Helenium amarum (Rafinesque) H. Rock
UWAL0046233 Autauga 28 Jun 2017 Parker, Matthew R.
970
UWAL
Helenium amarum (Rafinesque) H. Rock
TROY000048712 Autauga 28 Jun 2017 Parker, Matthew R.
970
TROY
Helenium amarum (Rafinesque) H. Rock
TROY000048117 Autauga 28 Jul 2017 Parker, Matthew R.
1068
TROY
Helenium amarum (Rafinesque) H. Rock
USAM000002316 Baldwin 10 Aug 1980 LeLong, Michel G.
11309
USAM
Helenium amarum (Rafinesque) H. Rock
UWAL0043163 Baldwin 22 Jul 2003 Larsen, Harry S.
1412
UWAL
Helenium amarum (Raf.) H. Rock
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