1. Inula helenium L. (elecampane)
Pl. 294 a–c; Map
1243
Plants perennial
herbs from a thickened rootstock. Stems 40–120(–200) cm long, erect or
ascending, usually unbranched below the inflorescence, with fine, spreading
hairs, not spiny or prickly. Leaves alternate and sometimes also basal, simple,
not spiny or prickly, the blade with the margins irregular and finely toothed,
the upper surface with sparse, spreading hairs, the undersurface densely
pubescent with fine, velvety hairs. Lowermost leaves long-petiolate, the blade
25–50 cm long, 8–20 cm wide, elliptic, tapered at the base, tapered to a
sharply pointed tip, grading to the upper leaves, these sessile, clasping the
stem, ovate, the base cordate, the tip narrowed or tapered to a sharp point.
Inflorescences relatively few-headed, axillary and terminal, the heads solitary
or in small, loose clusters, sometimes appearing as small panicles. Heads
radiate. Involucre 2.0–2.5 cm long, 3–5 cm in diameter, bell-shaped to more or
less hemispherical, with 2–4 series of overlapping bracts, these loosely
appressed to somewhat spreading, all but the innermost series narrowly ovate to
elliptic-ovate or oblong-ovate, not spiny or tuberculate, the outer surface and
margins with fine, velvety hairs, green, but often with lighter, papery
margins, these sometimes becoming reddish brown, those of the innermost series
linear to narrowly oblong-lanceolate, glabrous, membranous to papery, reddish
brown to purple, rarely lighter colored. Receptacle flat to slightly convex,
naked. Ray florets numerous, pistillate, slender, the corolla 1.5–2.5 cm long,
yellow. Disc florets numerous, perfect, the corolla 8–12 mm long, yellow.
Pappus (of ray and disc florets) of a single series of numerous capillary
bristles, these 6–9 mm long, more or less fused at the base, with short, fine,
ascending awns. Stamens with the filaments not fused together, the anthers
fused into a tube, each tip with a short, often indistinct appendage, each base
prolonged into a pair of slender, tail-like lobes. Style branches flattened,
each with a stigmatic line along each inner margin that is continuous around
the rounded tip, hairy. Fruits 4–5 mm long, narrowly oblong in outline, more or
less 4-angled or square in cross-section, not winged, not beaked, tan to light
brown, somewhat shiny, glabrous. 2n=20. June–September.
Introduced,
uncommon and sporadic (native of Europe, widely but sporadically escaped from
cultivation in the northeastern and western U.S. and adjacent Canada). Old
fields, roadsides, and open, disturbed areas.
Elecampane is
not as frequently grown as it once was. Early settlers used an extract of the
mucilaginous, thickened root to treat pulmonary diseases and various other
ailments, including upset stomach, diarrhea, worms, sciatica, and skin
ailments. The rootstock, which is rich in inulin (a source of fructose) also
has been cooked and candied and used to flavor vermouth and absinthe
(Steyermark, 1963; Arriagada, 1998). Native Americans, who got plants from
settlers, used the species as a gynecological aid, as heart medicine, and to
treat domesticated animals (Moerman, 1998). The roots contain alantolactone, an
analgesic with sedative properties.
The cultivated I.
britannica L. (British yellowhead) has become established outside
cultivation sporadically in New York and adjacent Canada. This aggressive
garden perennial was collected recently as a weed in a flower bed in St. Louis
County. Eventually it may become naturalized in the state. Inula britannica
is a biennial or short-lived perennial with shorter stems and smaller leaves
and heads than those found in I. helenium.