Purple-headed Sneezeweed, Berrien County

I’ve preliminarily identified this as Purple-headed Sneezeweed (Helenium flexuosum). Sneezeweed doesn’t get its name because of allergens but because certain species were used in early medicinal elixirs to induce sneezing. Medicinal use is strongly discouraged today because the live plants are known to be toxic to humans and cattle.

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