USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 vols. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York. Vol. 3: 510.
Where Commonly Found: Meadow, fields, wetlands and shores of rivers or lakes, CT, ME, MA, RI, VT (extremely rare in VT)
How to Identify:
(For unfamiliar words: Wikipedia Glossary of Botanical Terms).
Go Botany Key to Helenium autumnale,
ID photos on Missouri Botanical Garden website.
Flower Type: Daisy-like, drooping, wedge-shaped golden, shining flower rays with broad 3-toothed tips. Center disk is knob-shaped with disk flowers. Flower time is mid August – late September.
Leaf Arrangement: Alternate with one leaf per node.
Leaf Type: Simple, 1.5″ – 6″, alternate, lance-shaped with wings extending down the stem.
Seed Collection: Collect seed heads when ripe, dry in a paper bag or envelope in a cool, dry place until dry.
Attracts: Bees, Butterflies
Use: Garden, Rain Garden
Light: Full Sun
Hardiness Zone: 3 to 8 USDA Zone Map
Soils: Moist to Wet
Height: 3′-5′
Notes: A clump forming large, statuesque perennial attractive to bees and butterflies. Late valuable flowers for pollinators. May need staking.
Native to all of US, except, strangely NH: Biota of North America Program (BONAP) – North American Plant Atlas (NAPA).
Northeast Wild Seed Collectors 
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