Common Sneezeweed

Helenium autumnale

Found in moist pastures, forests, woodlands, forest edges. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

70

Strong

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

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Height: 3–5 feet
Spread: 2–3 feet
Light: Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture: Moist to standing water

Space about 2.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 16 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

Helenium autumnale — bloom photograph — Dominicus Johannes Bergsma · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original photograph

At a glance

Life cycle: Perennial
Bloom: August to October
Fruiting season: Fall

JFMAMJJASOND

Not yet recorded · Leaves

Recorded in 54 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 3

Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain. — Named place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields — Named place / source context. Shown: Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Georgia and Tennessee; which part is not recorded, a neighboring state.Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields, Richard Schlecht, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 54 animals.

Alder Flycatcher
Empidonax alnorum
Birds. 1 shared habitat
American Crow
Corvus brachyrhynchos
Birds. 1 shared habitat
American Robin
Turdus migratorius
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Bank Swallow
Riparia riparia
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Black-crowned Night-heron
Nycticorax nycticorax
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Blue Jay
Cyanocitta cristata
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Polioptila caerulea
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Broad-winged Hawk
Buteo platypterus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Canada Goose
Branta canadensis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Carolina Chickadee
Poecile carolinensis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Cedar Waxwing
Bombycilla cedrorum
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Chimney Swift
Chaetura pelagica
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Chipping Sparrow
Spizella passerina
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Cliff Swallow
Petrochelidon pyrrhonota
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Common Grackle
Quiscalus quiscula
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Common Nighthawk
Chordeiles minor
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Cooper's Hawk
Accipiter cooperii
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Dark-eyed Junco
Junco hyemalis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Double-crested Cormorant
Phalacrocorax auritus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Downy Woodpecker
Picoides pubescens
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Eastern Kingbird
Tyrannus tyrannus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Eastern Phoebe
Sayornis phoebe
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Eastern Towhee
Pipilo erythrophthalmus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Gray Catbird
Dumetella carolinensis
Birds. 1 shared habitat

All wildlife of Alabama

Care

Keep the soil moist to wet.

Care sources

NC State Extension Plant Toolbox: Helenium autumnale

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

6CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Helenium

Chlorochlamys chloroleucariaBlackberry Looper Moth
Condica sutorThe Cobbler, Cobbler Groundling
Condica vidensWhite-Dotted Groundling
Nathalis ioleDainty Sulphur, Dwarf Yellow
Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
Carmenta ithacae

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

48BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Helenium

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0

14Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Helenium

Andrena beameri
Calliopsis coloradensis
Dianthidium curvatum
Dieunomia bolliana
Megachile inimica
Megachile parallela
Megachile xylocopoides
Melissodes boltoniae
Melissodes dentiventris
Melissodes druriellus

Show all 14

Melissodes illatus
Melissodes manipularis
Melissodes wheeleri
Paranthidium jugatorium

Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0

—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Beetles 1

Epicauta pennsylvanica

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Flies 3

Anthrax halcyon
Scepsis fulvicollis
Syrphus arcuatus

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Adult butterflies / moths 2

Limochores taumas
Phyciodes tharos

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Other wasps 6

Bembix spinolae
Bicyrtes ventralis
Polistes variatus
Priononyx atrata
Sphex nigricans
Sphex procera

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Other insects 1

Euschistus fissilis

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

No records yet · Ants

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Asteraceae
Hardiness: Zones 3a–8b
Flower color: Brown/copper, yellow or orange
Growth rate: Rapid
Growth habit: Single stem
Foliage color: Green
Fruit begins: Fall
Fruit ends: Fall

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Bloom · “August to October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
Flower color · “Brown/copper, yellow or orange” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Fruit begins · “Fall” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox · Species profile fruit display season; not a local ripening date
Fruit ends · “Fall” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox · Species profile fruit display season; not a local ripening date
Growth habit · “Single stem” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Hardiness · “Zones 3a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Height · “3–5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, USDA PLANTS, Minnesota Wildflowers, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
Soil · “Frequent standing water; Moist; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
Spread · “2–3 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox

Conservation status

Alabama rank	SNR
Global rank	G5
AL status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources