Helenium flexuosum

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}

{{Speciesbox

|image = Helenium flexuosum, Purple Sneezeweed, Howard County, MD, Helen Lowe Metzman 2017-08-07-17.09 (36760234206).jpg

|status = G5

|status_system = TNC

|status_ref={{cite web |title=NatureServe Explorer 2.0 |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.144210/Helenium_flexuosum |website=explorer.natureserve.org}}

|genus = Helenium

|species = flexuosum

|authority = Raf. 1838

|synonyms_ref = [http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/gcc-136462 The Plant List, Helenium flexuosum Raf. ]

|synonyms =

• Helenium floridanum Fernald
• Helenium godfreyi Fernald
• Helenium nudiflorum Nutt.

}}

Helenium flexuosum is a North American plant species in the daisy family known by the common name purple sneezeweed or southern sneezeweed. It is widespread across much of eastern and central United States and Canada, from Nova Scotia west to Ontario, Minnesota, and Kansas, south to Florida, Louisiana, and eastern Texas.[http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Helenium%20flexuosum.png Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map]

Helenium flexuosum is a perennial herb up to 100 cm (40 inches) tall. One plant can produce 80 or more flower heads in a branching array. Each head has up to 700 yellow or purple disc florets, sometimes with no ray florets, sometimes with 8-13 yellow, red, purple, or brown ray florets. The species grows in fields, ditches, and streambanks.{{Cite web |title=Helenium flexuosum in Flora of North America @ efloras.org |url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242416624 |access-date=2022-12-11 |website=www.efloras.org}}