A Latin name for a plant called elecampane which is itself a corruption of the ante-Linnaean name Enula campana, so called from its growing wild in Campania. This was an ancient herb described by both Pliny and Dioscorides
Species
hookeri
Named for Sir William Jackson Hooker (1785-1865), professor of botany and director of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew in the mid 19th century
The Inula genus is a member of the sprawling aster family. Inula hookeri—Hooker's inula—is
named for the eminent botanist Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker.Inulin, found in the roots of these plants,
is used as a substitute sweetener for diabetics. Inula is native to Europe, Asia, and Africa, and not
found in the wild in North America.
Identification: Growing in dense colonies like stands of
daisies, these inulas reach 30" (75 cm) in height. Leaves are lance-shaped.
Stems are covered with soft hairs and
topped by yellow flowers up to 3" (8 cm) around. Each flowerhead is composed of a darker
yellow central disk flower and many narrow ray flowers. Often the rays are so narrow that they
look shaggy, like windblown hair. Flowers bloom from July to October.
ID is uncertain 
