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Dig into Plants: Purple Coneflower

Purple Coneflower

Other Common Names: Eastern Purple Coneflower

Scientific Name: Echinacea purpurea

Native to Alabama: Yes

Purple Coneflower

Wikimedia
Matt Lavin

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Learn more about…

Basic Information
Classification Button
Maintenance
Adaptations Button
Plant ID
Life Cycle

Basic Plant Information

  • I am a vascular plant with no woody stems above ground, so I am herbaceous.
  • I do not keep leaves year-round, so I am deciduous.
  • I die back in winter but regrow in spring for many seasons, so I am perennial.
  • I can grow 2 – 5 feet high and 1.5 – 2 feet wide.
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Stephanie Brundage

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Ecological Benefits
This plant provides food for:
Butterflies Native Bees Hummingbirds
Caterpillars Other Birds Other Pollinators
Silvery Checkerspot
Other Plants Found in Alabama with Similar Ecological Benefits:
Smooth Purple Coneflower
(Echinacea laevigata)
Pale Purple Coneflower
(Echinacea pallida)

Maintenance Notes
  • Dormant in winter.
  • Flowers can be cut for an indoor vase.
  • plants will rebloom without deadheading, however prompt removal of spent flowers improves appearance.
  • When watering, hold hose to base of plant for a count of 5 seconds. Water should reach all roots.
  • Avoid sprinkling water on the leaves.
  • Requires average amount of water.
Average watering: water two times per week during the summer and once per week during the rest of the year.

Habitat Requirements
This plant prefers:
Full Sun
(6+ hours of sun per day)

Part Sun/ Shade
(2-6 hours of sun per day)

Average Watering
Well-drained, Sandy, Loamy, Clay, or Limestone

Leaf, Flower & Seed Identification
LEAF DESCRIPTION
Wikimedia
Forest & Kim Starr
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Leaf Characteristics Chart (PDF)
Shape:
Ovate or Lanceolate
Margin:
Serrate or Dentate
Arrangement:
Alternate
Form:
Simple
Description:
Dark green leaves; basal leaves (leaves at the base of the stem) and lower stem leaves are ovate to lanceolate and slightly heart-shaped at the base of the leaf; upper stem leaves are similar but become smaller as they extend up the stem
FLOWER DESCRIPTION
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Joseph A. Marcus
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Flower Shape Chart (JPG)
Color:
Purple, Pink
Shape:
Radiate/Ligulate
Bloom Months:
Apr – Sep
Description:
Flowers occur singly at the top of 2-5 ft stems and are up to 5 inches in diameter; flower heads have drooping and tongue-shaped ray florets (narrow, petal-like, infertile florets that surround the disk) and purplish-brown disk florets (tubular, fertile florets that forms disk) that form spiny central cone
SEED DESCRIPTION
USDA-NRCS Plants Database

Steve Hurst
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Type:
Fruit –
Dry Seed Pod
Description:
small, dark, 4-angled pods
Months in Seed:
Fall
Plant spreads by:
Seeds and Rhizomes/ Tubers/ Roots & Shoots
Self-seeds, can become aggressive if conditions are right

Plant Life Cycle
Plant Life Cycle:

  • All plants start life as a seed.
  • The seed turns into a sprout when it grows roots.
  • The sprout becomes a seedling as grows a stem and leaves above the ground.
  • After the seedling becomes an adult plant it will grow flowers.
  • After the flowers finish blooming, each flower turns into a seed.
  • When the seeds fall down to the ground, the plant life cycle starts again.
  • Each seed can become a plant if it has the food, water and space that it needs to grow.
General Plant Life Cycle – Dreamstime
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS

Quick Fact Sheet
(Condensed Species Info)
QR Code
(Links to this Webpage)
Plant ID Sign (Text Only):
Ready as-is PDF
Plant ID Sign (Text Only):
Editable Word Doc
Plant ID Sign (With Picture):
Ready as-is PDF
Plant ID Sign (With Picture):
Editable Word Doc

INFORMATION SOURCES FOR THIS PLANT
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Logo
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Logo
Missouri Botanical Gardens Logo 2019
Alabama Butterfly Atlas Logo