Helenium campestre
Helenium campestre is a North American perennial plant in the sunflower family, commonly known as oldfield sneezeweed or arkansas sneezeweed. It is native to the southeastern United States, in Arkansas and northwestern Louisiana.
Description
Helenium campestre is a perennial herb up to 100 cm tall. One plant can produce as many as 20 flower heads, in branching arrays. The head is spherical or egg-shaped, with sometimes as many as 700 disc florets, each floret yellow near the base but purple or brown towards the tip. There are also 9-15 yellow ray florets. The species grows in ditches, fields, and streambanks.
Similar species
The plant is often misidentified as Southern Sneezeweed but it can be identified by the number of lobes on the disk florets. H. Campestre has 5 lobes, while H. flexusom has 4. The flowers on H. campestre are larger and droop more.
Distribution
This species has a very limited distribution, occurring only in Arkansas and Louisiana. Within Louisiana, it has been documented in Bossier Parish and Webster Parish.