Helenium flexusum
Purple Headed Sneezewood

Prefers rich moist to wet soils.  Golden yellow reflexed petals encircle a brownish purple center disk from August through October.Do not overfertilize as it will cause plants to become too tall. Native to eastern and midwestern US. The flowers of this species are pollinated by insects instead of wind so they have heavy, sticky pollen that is not easily inhaled. Known as Sneezeweed because the flowers were pulverized to make a snuff that induced sneezing.   This reaction was believed to clear the head, relieve headaches and perhaps cause the evacuation of those pesky evil spirits.

This herbaceous perennial wildflower is 1½–3′ tall with each stem branching occasionally in the upper half. Because of vegetative offsets, multiple stems usually develop. The pale to medium green stems are strongly winged from the decurrent leaves; they are usually canescent, but some populations of plants can have either glabrous or hairy stems. The alternate leaves are up to 3″ long and 1″ across; they are pale to medium green, lanceolate to narrowly ovate, smooth along their margins, and canescent to glabrous. The base of each leaf clasps the stem, forming decurrent extensions of the leaf along the stem below.

The flowerheads offer nectar and pollen as floral rewards to a wide range of insect visitors, including long-tongued bees, short-tongued bees, wasps, flies, butterflies, and skippers. Various insects feed on the leaves, pith of the stems, and other parts of Helenium spp. (Sneezeweeds). These species include the caterpillars of the butterfly Nathalis iole (Dainty Sulfur), the caterpillars of Papaipema impecuniosa (Aster Borer Moth) and Papaipema rigida (Rigid Sunflower Borer Moth), and Smicronyx discoideus (Sneezeweed Weevil). Most of these insects also feed on other herbaceous species in the Aster family.

At Lincoln Landscaping cultivating the environment is our life and livelihood. It is our number one goal to help our clients create and maintain beautiful landscapes while reducing the impact on the environment. Whether you are interested in a pollinator landscape garden design and build or other landscaping or property management project; we can create for you an environmentally friendly, organic and beautiful property.

Lincoln Landscaping of Franklin Lakes offers complete
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