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Purplehead Sneezeweed

Helenium flexuosum

Found in moist pastures, moist forests, riverbanks, wet pine rocklands (in s. FL). FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

66
Strong

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

Profile 100%

Height
1–3 feet
Spread
1–2 feet
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Moist to standing water

Space about 1.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 44 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
May to August
Fruiting season
Summer to fall

Not yet recorded · Leaves

Recorded in 51 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

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

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

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.

All habitats

Care

  • Optional bloom tip: Removing spent flowers can encourage more blooms.
Care sources
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

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Asteraceae
Hardiness
Zones 5a–9b
Flower color
Brown/copper or purple
Growth rate
Moderate
Growth habit
Several stems
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
Summer
Fruit ends
Fall

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

Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “May to August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Flower color · “Brown/copper or purple” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
  • Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Fruit begins · “Summer” · 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 · “Several stems” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Hardiness · “Zones 5a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Height · “1–3 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, USDA PLANTS differ)
  • Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards differs)
  • Soil · “Frequent standing water; Moist; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards differs)
  • Spread · “1–2 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox

Conservation status

Alabama rankSNR
Global rankG5
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources