Helenium bigelovii
Bigelow's sneezeweed
(c) Brian Finzel, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · licence
Family: Asteraceae · Type: Herb · Native
Helenium bigelovii (Bigelow's sneezeweed) is a native California herb in the Asteraceae family, recognized by . Key features: few large heads, weakly winged stems, wide distribution.
Bigelow's sneezeweed is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, central western California, Transverse Ranges, and Peninsular Ranges in wet meadows, marshes, bogs, and along streambanks and lake margins at elevations up to 3,400 meters. Flowering from July to August, this plant produces yellow ray flowers with yellow to brown or purple disk flowers in heads 12 to 20 millimeters wide, surrounded by 14 to 20 ray flowers. Growing 30 to 130 centimeters tall with 1 to 3 unbranched or sparingly branched stems that are weakly winged and glabrous or sparsely hairy. Its leaves range from oblanceolate to oblong-elliptic, with basal leaves entire and cauline leaves varying from oblong-elliptic to lanceolate or linear. The fruit is approximately 2 millimeters long with 6 to 8 pappus scales that have awn-like tips.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 3 sympatric species. Key features: few large heads, weakly winged stems, wide distribution
Habitat and range
Habitat: Wet meadows, marshes, bogs, fens, streambanks, lake margins
Elevation: < 3400 m
Outside California: Oregon
Bloom period
Helenium bigelovii blooms Jul-Aug.
How to tell it apart
vs Rudbeckia: Rudbeckia has a dark purple-brown cone; Helenium has a yellow or greenish spherical disk.; vs Cotula: Cotula lacks ray flowers entirely; Helenium has yellow rays around the spherical disk.; vs Hymenoxys: Hymenoxys has deeply dissected ferny leaves; Helenium leaves are entire or shallowly lobed.; vs Oncosiphon: Oncosiphon lacks ray flowers and has finely divided ferny leaves; Helenium has rays and simple to lobed leaves.; vs Helianthella: Helianthella has flat disks with erect phyllaries; Helenium has spherical disks with reflexed phyllaries.
Frequently asked questions
Is Helenium bigelovii native to California?
Yes. Helenium bigelovii is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Helenium bigelovii bloom?
Helenium bigelovii blooms Jul-Aug.
What plant family does Helenium bigelovii belong to?
Helenium bigelovii is in the Asteraceae family, genus Helenium.
What habitat does Helenium bigelovii grow in?
Helenium bigelovii grows in Wet meadows, marshes, bogs, fens, streambanks, lake margins.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.