Inule Fétide

Mediterranean region.

Mediterranean region, eastwards to Afghanistan and northwest India.

Weed of cultivation, waste ground.

Annual.

Dittrichia graveolens was collected as a ruderal in Connecticut in the 1930s, and collections from New York in the late 1940s recorded it as abundant in areas where road construction was underway. It appears to be recently introduced in California, where it has spread rapidly and has the potential to become a noxious weed (R. E. Preston 1997). Dittrichia graveolens has been shown to cause allergic contact dermatitis (J. N. Burry and P. M. Kloot 1982). The plants produce sesquiterpene lactones (G. S. d’Alcontres et al. 1973; A. Rustaiyan et al. 1987; R. Lanzetta et al. 1991), which have been shown for many composites to be linked to allergic contact dermatitis in humans (J. C. Mitchell and G. Dupuis 1971). Little evidence exists that the plants are toxic, although oxalate poisoning has been reported to be associated with grazing (kind of animals not reported) of D. graveolens (C. Lamp and F. Collet 1979), and fishermen in southern Italy reportedly use the macerated leaves to stun fish (Lanzetta et al.). Livestock deaths due to ingestion of D. graveolens have been linked to enteritis caused by the barbed pappus bristles puncturing the small intestine (C. A. Gardner and H. W. Bennetts 1956; D. J. Schneider and J. L. Du Plessis 1980).

Plants viscid, rank smelling, 20–130 cm; stems ± pilose and stipitate-glandular. Leaf blades linear to lance-linear, 1–3(–7) cm × 1–3(–10) mm, margins entire or denticulate, apices acute, faces pilosulous to hirtellous and minutely stipitate-glandular. Phyllaries 1–8 mm. Ray florets (6–)10–12(–16); corolla laminae 2–5(–7) mm. Disc florets 9–14+; corollas 3–4 mm. Cypselae 1.5–2 mm; pappi 3–4(–5) mm. 2n = 18 (Morocco).

Erigeron graveolens Linnaeus, Cent. Pl. I, 28. 1755; Inula graveolens (Linnaeus) Desfontaines

Dittrichia graveolens, commonly known as stinkwort or stinking fleabane, is a plant species in the sunflower family, native to southern Europe, North Africa, and western Asia as far east as Pakistan. It has become naturalized in California, Asia, Africa, Australia, and other places and is regarded as a noxious weed in some regions. It is a classified as an invasive species in California, and a potential threat to wine production in the state.

The plant is a branching subshrub growing up to 130 centimetres (51 inches) tall, with a rank, foul smell. Leaves are long and narrow, pointed at each end, with small teeth along the edges and glandular hairs on the surfaces. One plant can produce numerous yellow flower heads with as many as 16 ray florets and 40 disc florets.

Barbs on the fluffy-tipped seeds, which help it spread, can fatally damage the digestive systems of grazing animals. Oils in the plant also taint the flavor of meat and milk of animals that have consumed them. The sticky resin has been known to cause allergic reactions and severe dermatitis in humans. For this reasons, it is advisable to wear protective gloves when handling the plant.

Plant in New Zealand

Flowers in bloom

Flower (side view)

Flower (overhead)

Flower gone to seed

Dry form of plant