Helenium flexuosum Raf.

Purple Head Sneezeweed

Herb

Perennial

Vascular

Purple Head Sneezeweed is a native herbaceous perennial in the Sunflower family (Asteraceae). It can be found throughout much of Alabama. Purple Head Sneezeweed occurs on moist roadsides, in open woods, in ditches, in bogs, and along streams. It is a perennial with a tap root. The stems are 1-3 feet in height, green in color, branched above the middle, winged with the decurrent leaf bases, and pubescent. Leaves are basal and cauline. The basal leaves are usually withered at flowering time. Basal leaves are spatulate to obovate in outline, entire or serrate, and pubescent. The stem leaves are lanceolate to oblanceolate in outline, entire or toothed, and pubescent. Flowers are produced in heads. The heads are arranged in panicles. Each head has 8-13 wedge-shaped yellow ray florets that have 3-5 shallow lobes. There are 250-500 purple-brown disc florets. The fruit is an achene. The leaves of Purple Head Sneezeweed are a larval food for the Dainty Sulphur butterfly (Nathalis iole Boisduval). Dried and powdered flowers and leaves of the sneezeweeds have been dried and used as snuff. Purple Head Sneezeweed is sometimes available from native plant nurseries. It prefers an area with moist soil and full sun.--A. Diamond

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Native FACW (NWPL) G5 (Global Rank)

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