''Helenium bolanderi'' is a North American species of flowering plant in the

daisy family The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

known by the common name coastal sneezeweed. It is native to southern

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

and northern

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

as far south as

Mendocino County Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish for "of Mendoza) is a county located on the North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,601. The county seat is Ukiah. Mendocino County consists wholly ...

, primarily along the seacoast. ''Helenium bolanderi'' perennial herb sometimes as much as 140 cm (56 inches or 4 2/3 feet) in height. It has a generally unbranched, erect stem with oval-shaped leaves. The flowers arise on naked peduncles with one to three

flower heads A pseudanthium (Greek for "false flower"; ) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, compos ...

per plant. Each

flower head A pseudanthium (Greek for "false flower"; ) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, compos ...

has a fringe of 15-30 golden yellow ray florets bent backwards from a rounded center of sometimes over 1000 disc florets (yellow toward the base but brown or purple near the tips). The fruit is a tiny, hairy

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not op ...

a few millimeters long.Flora of North America, ''Helenium bolanderi'' A. Gray, 1868. Coastal sneezeweed
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References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUnited States Department of Agriculture Plants ProfileCalphotos Photo gallery, University of CaliforniaPhoto of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected near Humboldt Bay in 1901, isotype of ''Helenium bigelovii'' var. ''festivum''
Flora of California Flora of Oregon bolanderi Plants described in 1868 Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Asteroideae-stub