sunbeem - Irene
Common Sneezeweed – Helenium autumnale
This plant can grow up to 2.5 feet tall and starts flowering in late Summer giving a lovely display of vibrant flowers and even when the petals drop off the flower centres are still very pretty and they carry on attracting insects to pollinate the seeds. The plant is a perennial and belongs in the daisy or aster family and likes to be panted in rich soil which needs to be moist to wet conditions and in full sun. The leaves, flowers and seeds are poisonous to humans and if eaten in large quantities causing gastric and intestinal irritation which can become fatal, it can also cause skin rashes in some people, the chemicals in Sneezweed can poison livestock particularly sheep, also fish and dogs. “The common name of the plant ‘Sneezeweed’ was because people used to dry the leaves and make the powder into snuff, when inhaled it caused sneezing which supposedly rid the body of evil spirits,” also “it is thought to have been named my ‘Linnaaeus’ for Helen of Troy, the legend is that the flowers sprung up from the ground where her tears fell.”
Common Sneezeweed – Helenium autumnale
This plant can grow up to 2.5 feet tall and starts flowering in late Summer giving a lovely display of vibrant flowers and even when the petals drop off the flower centres are still very pretty and they carry on attracting insects to pollinate the seeds. The plant is a perennial and belongs in the daisy or aster family and likes to be panted in rich soil which needs to be moist to wet conditions and in full sun. The leaves, flowers and seeds are poisonous to humans and if eaten in large quantities causing gastric and intestinal irritation which can become fatal, it can also cause skin rashes in some people, the chemicals in Sneezweed can poison livestock particularly sheep, also fish and dogs. “The common name of the plant ‘Sneezeweed’ was because people used to dry the leaves and make the powder into snuff, when inhaled it caused sneezing which supposedly rid the body of evil spirits,” also “it is thought to have been named my ‘Linnaaeus’ for Helen of Troy, the legend is that the flowers sprung up from the ground where her tears fell.”