General poisoning notes:

Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale) is a native herb found in parts of central and western Canada. This plant causes illness and occasional death in cattle and horses. It has been proved to be experimentally toxic to dogs but it is very unlikely that dogs would voluntarily ingest it. The plant is well-named because it is highly irritating to the nose, eyes, and stomach (Kingsbury 1964, Cheeke and Schull 1985, Fuller and McClintock 1986, Herz 1988).

References:

Cheeke, P. R., Shull, L. R. 1985. Natural toxicants in feeds and poisonous plants. AVI Publishing Company, Inc., Westport, Conn., USA. 492 pp.

Fuller, T. C., McClintock, E. 1986. Poisonous plants of California. Univ. California Press, Berkeley, Calif., USA. 432 pp.

Herz, W. 1978. Sesquiterpene lactones from livestock poisons. Pages 487-497 in Keeler, R. F., Van Kampen, K. R., James, L. F., eds. Effects of poisonous plants on livestock. Academic Press, New York, N.Y., USA. 600 pp.

Kingsbury, J. M. 1964. Poisonous plants of the United States and Canada. Prentice-Hall Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J., USA. 626 pp.

Nomenclature:

Scientific Name: Helenium autumnale L.

Vernacular name(s): sneezeweed

Scientific family name: Compositae

Vernacular family name: composite

Go to ITIS*^ca for more taxonomic information on: Helenium autumnale

References:

Agriculture Quebec. 1975. Noms des maladies des plantes du Canada/ Names of plant diseases in Canada. , Quebec City, Que., Canada. 288 pp.

Alex, J. F., Cayouette, R., Mulligan, G. A. 1980. Common and botanical names of weeds in Canada/Noms populaire et scientifiques des plantes nuisibles du Canada. Revised. Agric. Can. Publ., Ottawa, Ont., Canada. 132 pp.

Bailey, L. H., Bailey, E. Z. 1976. Hortus third. Revised. MacMillan, New York, N.Y., USA. 1290 pp.

Scoggan, H. J. 1978, 1979. The flora of Canada. Nat. Mus. Nat. Sci. (Ottawa) Publ. Bot. 7(1)-7(4). 1711 pp.

Van Wijk, H. L. 1911. A dictionary of plant names. Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, The Netherlands. 1444 pp.

Victorin, M. 1964. Flore Laurentienne. 2nd ed. Univ. Montreal, Montreal, Que., Canada. 952 pp.

Geographic Information

Alberta
British Columbia
Manitoba
Northwest Territories
Ontario
Quebec
Saskatchewan

References:

Bailey, L. H., Bailey, E. Z. 1976. Hortus third. Revised. MacMillan, New York, N.Y., USA. 1290 pp.

Boivin, B. 1966, 1967. Énumération des plantes du Canada. Provencheria 6. Nat. Can. (Que.) 93: 253-274; 371-437; 583-646; 989-1063. 94: 131-157; 471-528; 625-655.

Image or illustration

sneezeweed:

Images: images.google.com

Toxic parts:

leaves
stems

References:

Herz, W. 1978. Sesquiterpene lactones from livestock poisons. Pages 487-497 in Keeler, R. F., Van Kampen, K. R., James, L. F., eds. Effects of poisonous plants on livestock. Academic Press, New York, N.Y., USA. 600 pp.

Notes on Toxic plant chemicals:

Helenalin, a sesquiterpene lactone, is the major toxin found in sneezeweed. The LD-50 for helenalin is between 85 and 150 mg/kg, given orally to sheep. This compound contains a seven-membered ring, a lactone structure, and an exocylic methylene group (Cheeke and Schull 1985, Herz 1988).

Toxic plant chemicals:

helenalin

References:

Herz, W. 1978. Sesquiterpene lactones from livestock poisons. Pages 487-497 in Keeler, R. F., Van Kampen, K. R., James, L. F., eds. Effects of poisonous plants on livestock. Academic Press, New York, N.Y., USA. 600 pp.

Animals/Human Poisoning:

Note: When an animal is listed without additional information, the literature (as of 1993) contained no detailed explanation.

Cattle

General symptoms of poisoning:

breathing, labored
convulsions
death
incoordination
mouth, frothing of

Notes on poisoning:

Sneezeweed causes poisoning and death in cattle. Symptoms include frothing at the mouth, incoordination, and convulsions. The plant is highly irritating to the nose, eyes, and stomach. Cows that ingest this plant produce bitter-tasting milk (Kingsbury 1964, Fuller and McClintock 1986).

References:

Cheeke, P. R., Shull, L. R. 1985. Natural toxicants in feeds and poisonous plants. AVI Publishing Company, Inc., Westport, Conn., USA. 492 pp.

Herz, W. 1978. Sesquiterpene lactones from livestock poisons. Pages 487-497 in Keeler, R. F., Van Kampen, K. R., James, L. F., eds. Effects of poisonous plants on livestock. Academic Press, New York, N.Y., USA. 600 pp.

Kingsbury, J. M. 1964. Poisonous plants of the United States and Canada. Prentice-Hall Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J., USA. 626 pp.

Horses

General symptoms of poisoning:

convulsions
incoordination
weakness

References:

Fuller, T. C., McClintock, E. 1986. Poisonous plants of California. Univ. California Press, Berkeley, Calif., USA. 432 pp.

Herz, W. 1978. Sesquiterpene lactones from livestock poisons. Pages 487-497 in Keeler, R. F., Van Kampen, K. R., James, L. F., eds. Effects of poisonous plants on livestock. Academic Press, New York, N.Y., USA. 600 pp.

Humans