''Helenium brevifolium'' is a North American

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

in the sunflower family, commonly known as shortleaf sneezeweed. It is native to the southeastern United States, from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

to eastern

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

and inland as far as

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

.Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
/ref> ''Helenium brevifolium'' is an perennial herb up to 100 cm (40 inches) tall. One plant can produce as many as 10

flower heads A pseudanthium (Greek for "false flower"; ) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, compos ...

, in branching arrays. The head is spherical or hemispherical, with sometimes as many as 800

disc floret The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

s, each floret yellow near the base but purple or brown or yellow towards the tip. There are also 9-24 yellow

ray florets The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

. The species grows in bogs, swamps, and other wet places.Flora of North America, ''Helenium brevifolium'' (Nuttall) Alph. Wood, 1870. Shortleaf sneezeweed
/ref>

References

External links

''Helenium brevifolium'' - Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
description, photos, line drawing, ecological information, Louisiana distribution map
Southeastern Flora
photos
Digital Atlas of the Virginia FloraAtlas of Florida Vascular Plants
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15558611 Flora of the Southeastern United States Plants described in 1841 brevifolium Flora without expected TNC conservation status