Elecampane.Inula Helenium.
Found along roadsides in August.
Growing to the good height of 5 feet sometimes, this very large, and stout stalk is single and leafy, tough-fibred, but smooth to the touch. Colored green, with a beautiful purple-gray bloom.
The leaf is large; its heart-shaped base has prolonged points, and its tip tapers very much; the margin is irregularly scalloped, its ribs are many and strong, the midrib being large and prominent beneath, and so taut it puckers and pulls the blade; the texture is thick, and the underside is slightly woolly. The root-leaves are oval, and on long stems; the upper leaves are clasping, and alternately placed. Their color is a strong grayish-green, of a peculiarly fine, cool quality.
The flowers are small, and yellow, soon turning to tawny. They are set in a large disc, surrounded by many, narrow, bright yellow rays. The cup which holds the head is shallow and composed of many broad, curling or wavy, light green parts, which overlap each other in several rows; close beneath the cup occurs a small leaf. The head is set on a stem which bears a single leaf midway its length; two or three flower-heads are grouped together; they are placed terminally, and in the angles of the upper leaves.
Growing in large settlements, by the stone wall or Virginia-rail fence, Elecampane commands attention by its splendid vigor of growth, and the free curves of its fine leafage. In color too, it is highly suggestive of decorative purposes, for the excellence of its green, and the plum-gray bloom upon its stout stalk.