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• Helenium flexuosum

Helenium flexuosum — purple-headed sneezeweed

Facts

Purple-headed sneezeweed is native to the eastern and southern United States, but has apparently been introduced to and is spreading north through eastern Canada. The genus Helenium is said to have been named by Linnaeus after Helen of Troy, based on the legend that these flowers grew on the spot on the ground where her tears fell.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), meadows and fields, shores of rivers or lakes

Characteristics

• Flowers

  Bases of bract appendages

  NA

  Bract outer side hairs

  the bracts are hairy on their outer surfaces

  Bract texture

  the bracts have a similar texture to a leaf

  Disk flower color

  • blue to purple
  • green to brown
  • pink to red

  Disk flower lobe number

  • 4
  • 5

  Disk flower number

  more than 50

  Disk width

  6–15 mm

  Flower head outer flowers

  at the outer edge of the flower head, each flower has a single enlarged lobe or strap

  Flower head platform

  the base has no bristles or papery scales

  Flower head platform surface

  NA

  Flower type in flower heads

  • the flower head has disk flowers only, and lacks the strap-shaped flowers
  • the flower head has tubular disk flowers in the center and ray flowers, these often strap-shaped, around the periphery

  Height of flower head base

  8–17 mm

  Inflorescence branching (Solidago)

  NA

  Inflorescence shape

  • the inflorescence is flat-topped in profile
  • the inflorescence is not flat-topped but appears rounded, with some flower heads distinctly higher than others

  Ovary hairs

  the ovary has hairs on it

  Ovary profile

  in profile, the ovary is lance-shaped, but widest above the middle

  Peduncle hairs

  the peduncles are hairy

  Peduncle length

  30–100 mm

  Ray flower color

  • NA
  • blue to purple
  • green to brown
  • pink to red
  • yellow

  Ray flower reproductive parts

  there are neither carpels nor stamens in the ray flowers

  Ray flowers

  • 11-15
  • 6-10

  Ray length

  10–20 mm

  Scale tip

  NA

  Style branches

  the style branch is wider at the tip and has a flattened end, or the style branches are wider at the tips and have flattened ends

  Width of flower head base

  9–17 mm

• Fruits or seeds

  Number of pappus parts

  • 5
  • 6

  Ovary length in developed fruit

  1–1.2 mm

  Seed hair tuft bases

  NA

  Seed hair tuft color

  NA

  Seed hair tuft details

  NA

  Seed hair tuft length

  0.6–1.7 mm

  Seed hair tuft tips

  NA

  Seed hairs uniform

  NA

  Seed tuft scale number

  5–6

  Seed tuft type

  the pappus is made of flat scales that are not split or frayed at the tips

  Top of disk flower ovary

  NA

  Tuft or plume on fruit

  there is no plume, or the plume is made up of scales, awns, a crown, or a rim

• Glands or sap

  Bract resin

  the bracts have no resin or resin glands

  Leaf blade glands

  the leaf blades have glandular (translucent) dots or scales

  Sap

  the sap is clear and watery

• Growth form

  Growth form

  the plant has one or more free-standing stems

  Plant lifespan

  the plant is perennial, it shows evidence of previous year's leaves, stems or stem bases

  Spines on plant

  the plant has no spines

  Underground organs

  there are only slender roots on the plant

• Leaves

  Final leaf segment length (compound lvs only)

  0 mm

  Final leaf segment width (compound lvs only)

  0 mm

  Hairs on underside of leaf blade

  • the underside of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy
  • the underside of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs

  Leaf arrangement

  alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem

  Leaf blade base

  the leaf has no petiole

  Leaf blade base shape

  the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow

  Leaf blade bloom

  the underside of the leaf has no noticeable bloom

  Leaf blade edges

  • the edge of the leaf blade has no teeth or lobes
  • the edge of the leaf blade has teeth

  Leaf blade length

  30–120 mm

  Leaf blade shape

  • the leaf blade is elliptic (widest near the middle and tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is lanceolate (lance-shaped; widest below the middle and tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is linear (very narrow with more or less parallel sides)
  • the leaf blade is oblanceolate (lance-shaped, but with the widest point above the middle of the leaf blade)
  • the leaf blade is oblong (rectangular but with rounded ends)
  • the leaf blade is obovate (egg-shaped, but with the widest point above the middle of the leaf blade)
  • the leaf blade is spatulate (spoon-shaped; narrow near the base, then suddenly widening to a rounded tip)

  Leaf blade surface colors

  there is no noticeable color variation on the upper surface of the leaf

  Leaf blade tip

  • the tip of the leaf blade is acute (sharply pointed)
  • the tip of the leaf blade is obtuse (bluntly pointed)

  Leaf blade width

  5–20 mm

  Leaf disposition

  the leaves are nearly similar in size, prominence of teeth, and length of stalks throughout the stem

  Leaf spines

  there are no spines on the leaf edges

  Leaf stalk

  the leaves have no leaf stalks, but attach directly to the stem

  Leaf stalk length

  0 mm

  Leaf tip extension

  NA

  Leaf type

  leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)

  Leaflet number

  0

  Specific leaf type

  the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets

  Teeth per side of leaf blade

  At least 0

• Place

  Habitat

  • terrestrial
  • wetlands

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont

  Specific habitat

  • man-made or disturbed habitats
  • meadows or fields
  • shores of rivers or lakes

• Scent

  Plant odor

  the plant does not have much of an odor

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Flowering stem cross-section

  • the flowering stem has strong or sharp angles, but is not square
  • the flowering stem is circular, or with lots of small angles

  Leaves on stem

  there is at least one full leaf above the base of the flowering stem

  Stem bloom

  there is no powdery or waxy film on the stem

  Stem internode hair direction

  the hairs point mostly upwards to outwards

  Stem internode hairs

  • the stem has hairs between the nodes
  • the stem has no hairs between the nodes

  Stem wings

  the stem has wings on it that run down the stem from the leaf nodes

Wetland status

Occurs in wetlands or non-wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FAC)

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae