They may be annuals, herbaceousperennials or subshrubs that vary greatly in size, from small species a few centimeters tall to enormous perennials over 3 m (10 ft) tall. They carry yellow daisy-like composite flowerheads often with narrow ray-florets.
Some common characteristics include pappus with bristles, flat capitulum, and lack of chaff.
Several species are popular flowers for the garden, with cultivation going back to antiquity. The smaller species are used in rock gardens and the more common larger ones, which tend to have very coarse foliage, in borders.
Etymology
The genus name Inula is of uncertain origin, and was already in use by the Romans. The Latin phrase inula campana (field inula) gave rise to the English elecampane whose scientific name is Inula helenium. The plant's specific name, helenium, derives from Helen of Troy; elecampane is said to have sprung up from where her tears fell.[3]
Species
The following species are recognised in the genus Inula:[4]
Inula acaulis Schott & Kotschy ex Boiss. – stemless inula
Rubina Abid and M. Qaiser (2003). "Chemotoxonomic study of Inula L. (s.str.) and its allied genera (Inuleae - Compositae) from Pakistan and Kashmir". Pak. J. Bot. 35 (2): 127–140.