Wyethia helianthoides / white mule’s ears

Adjectives: dramatic, exposed, fen, highly visible, interesting bits, native, showy

Also known as: white Wyethia, white-rayed Wyethia, grey mule’s ears, whitehead Wyethia
see also: Wyethia amplexicaulis / yellow mule’s ear

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On first view, if you only have a photo, this looks like a daisy. Sigh. But if you really get to see them, being as how they are relatively uncommon, it is a real sight! White mule’s ear is notable (1) for its large, white-rayed flowers, (2) for its large leaves, reminiscent of mule’s ears (albeit green ones) and (3) for the huge profusion in which it is found (when it is), especially in wetlands or wetter meadows and especially in the spring. The photos here were taken in the Island Park area in mid-June, 2022.

Mule’s-ears – both white and yellow – are large, stout plants, similar in size to the balsamroots, that grow from woody taproots. There are one to several stems per plant, and a single flower atop each stem. The leaves are in clumps, upward-pointing, and covered with matted hairs (in spring) but becoming hairless later in the season. The basal leaves are up to 16 inches long; upper leaves are smaller.

Each composite flower head has 13–21 white ray florets, each 1–2 in. long. The central disk has “many” yellow florets.

Interesting bits – White and yellow mule’s ears, if they are found together, can hybridize. Their progeny have pale yellow flowers.

The Wyethias can also be confused with their close-relations, the balsamroots. Besides leaf shapes, the two genera can be distinguished by the presence of cauline (stem) leaves in Wyethia and exclusively basal leaves in Balsamorhiza.

Overall, there is paucity of information on the web about this species, other than what is needed for a quick, visual identification. However, translateen.com, speaking to learners of English as a second language, includes the line: “When you first started learning English, you may have memorized lists of words like: Wyethia helianthoides.” Or not. And rhymes.com suggests it has a list of words that rhyme with Wyethia helianthoides, but alas, says there are none.