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elenium amarum, Bitter sneeze weed.
very common in these parts and contrary to the name, it does not cause sneezing just being around it, but is bitter and can cause alergic reactions if eaten. because of the bitterness, few animals will eat it and if they do, it can be fatal in large amounts. Cows that eat this will have bitter, undrinkable milk and its said can cause calves to have unpalatable tasting meat.
the toxin is a sesquiterpene lactone compound.
These compounds are toxic not only to livestock, but fish, worms, and insects as well.
It's close relative,
Helenium autumnale, flowers were dried and crushed into a fine powder for snuffing, that of course causes one to sneeze and was considered to rid the body of evil spirits (we call it
nasal conjestion). it also reduced "
catarrh of the stomach" if drank in a tea. it was also used by native americans for intestinal worms and reduce fevers.
It is in the
Asteraceae family as is Asters, common sunflowers and daisies.
last week i finished building my 2nd top bar hive but this time i added a side viewing window so i can monitor their progress without disturbing them.
Okay, so it's an old title of a cop show from years ago, but it was about two female detectives who always hung out together and never shown on a date with a man (or otherwise). I've been watching these two doe for the past three seasons and never seen them with fawns so I gave them the nicknames Cagney and Lacey. it seemed fitting.
i put up the corn feeder just a few days ago and it didn't take long for this doe and her fawn to show up. the drought was bad this year as the rains came early and no decent grass to graze since then. good news is we seem to have a fair acorn mast this year so in the fall the deer will fatten up hopefully.
Helenium amarum, Bitter sneeze weed.
