The Temperate Database is in the process of being updated, with new records being added and old ones being checked and brought up to date where necessary. This record has not yet been checked and updated.

Common Name: Rosilla

General Information

Helenium puberulum is a Annual/Perennial up to 1.50 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

, ,

Range

South-western N. America - California and Baja California.

Habitat

Moist meadows, marshes, slough banks etc, below 600 metres in California[]. Along streams, ditches, seepage areas, around ponds and lakes, forests, woodlands, sea level to 1200 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Annual/Perennial
Height	1.50 m
Pollinators	Bees, Lepidoptera
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Grows well in ordinary garden soil[, ], succeeding in most conditions other than boggy soils[]. It prefers a fertile moisture retentive soil[] in a sunny position[, ]. Dislikes dry soil[].
An annual or short-lived perennial, this species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10°c[].
Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[].
A good bee and butterfly plant[].

Edible Uses

Leaves and flowering heads - raw[].

Medicinal

Antiscorbutic, tonic.
The dried powdered plant has been applied to wounds and has also been rubbed onto the forehead and nose in the treatment of colds[]. It has been used as a snuff[]. The plant has also been used in the treatment of venereal disease[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in early summer.
If you have sufficient seed it would be worthwhile trying a sowing in situ outdoors in mid to late spring.