Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of this plant, which is a type of aster with clusters of up to 100 flower heads on each plant. The flowers are usually about an inch wide.
The common name is based on the former use of its dried leaves in making snuff, inhaled to cause sneezing that would supposedly rid the body of evil spirits. As the other part of its name implies, Autumn Sneezeweed blooms in late summer or fall.
Its Latin name, Helenium autumnale, is thought to have been named for Helen of Troy. The legend is that the flowers sprung up from the ground where her tears fell.
