Bitter sneezeweed

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Bitter sneezeweed stem and leaves

Bitter sneezeweed

Bitter sneezeweed leaves

Bitter sneezeweed

Bitter sneezeweed florets

Bitter sneezeweed head

Bitter sneezeweed inflorescences

Bitter sneezeweed

Bitter sneezeweed

Morphology

Stem

Erect, slender, bushy-branched above, ribbed, very leafy.

Leaves

Alternate, simple, sessile, numerous, linear to filiform, to 3 inches long, less than 1/10 inch wide, glabrous but densely glandular-dotted.

Inflorescence

Heads, numerous, short-stalked, terminal or in axils of upper leaves, 3/5 to 4/5 inch wide; bracts linear, turning outward at maturity.

Flower

Ray florets 4-8, 1/5 to 2/5 inch long, yellow, often drooping; tips 3-lobed; disks hemispheric to nearly spherical; disk florets yellow.

Fruit

Achenes, short, appressed-hairy, reddish brown, tipped with ovate, awned scales, enclosing small seed.

Ecology

Habitat

Waste areas, prairies, overgrazed pastures, and open woods.

Distribution

East 1/2 of Kansas.

Practical Information

Forage Value

Unpalatable and generally avoided by livestock.

Additional Notes