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Asteraceae FAMILY

Helenium amarum

Helenium amarum

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
1/5

Safety & Hazards

All parts of the plant contain the glycoside gudaldin and can cause toxic symptoms in grazing animals. Cows that have eaten even a small amount of the plant produce extremely bitter, distasteful milk, whilst honey from the flowers is said to be bitter[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitAnnual
Growth—

Grows well in ordinary garden soil[2]. Prefers a fertile moisture retentive soil in a sunny position[3]. Dislikes dry soils[3]. Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[4]. A good bee and butterfly plant[5]. The whole plant is very aromatic[3].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in early summer. If you have sufficient seed it would be worthwhile trying a sowing in situ outdoors in mid to late spring. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Helenium+amarum>

Pollinators

Bees, Lepidoptera

References

  1. [1]Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas — Diggs, Jnr. G.M.; Lipscomb. B. L. & O'Kennon. R. J · Botanical Research Institute, Texas. · 1999 · http://artemis.austincollege.edu/acad/bio/gdiggs/NCTXpdf.htm · ISBN 1-889878-01-4 ↩︎An excellent flora, which is also available on-line.
  2. [2]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  3. [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  4. [4]Perennial Garden Plants — Thomas. G. S. · J. M. Dent & Sons, London. · 1990 · ISBN 0 460 86048 8 ↩︎A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.
  5. [5]Butterflies and Moths in Britain and Europe. — Carter D. · Pan · 1982 · ISBN 0-330-26642-x ↩︎An excellent book on Lepidoptera, it also lists their favourite food plants.
  6. [6]Gray's Manual of Botany.Eighth Edition — Fernald. M. L. · American Book Co.; New York · 1950 · ISBN 0442222505 ↩︎A bit dated but a good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.
  7. [7]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
  8. [8]The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants — Chevallier. A. · Dorling Kindersley. London · 1996 · ISBN 9-780751-303148 ↩︎An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
  9. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎