Purple Coneflower
Other Common Names: Eastern Purple Coneflower Scientific Name: Echinacea purpurea Native to Alabama: Yes |
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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) |
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Habitat Requirements | |||
This plant prefers: | |||
Full Sun
(6+ hours of sun per day) Part Sun/ Shade |
Average Watering
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Well-drained, Sandy, Loamy, Clay, or Limestone | |
Leaf, Flower & Seed Identification |
LEAF DESCRIPTION |
Wikimedia
Forest & Kim Starr Click on image to enlarge it |
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Leaf Characteristics Chart (PDF) | ||||||
Shape:
Ovate or Lanceolate
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Margin: Serrate or Dentate |
Arrangement: Alternate |
Form: Simple |
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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 Click on image to enlarge it |
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Flower Shape Chart (JPG) | ||||
Color: Purple, Pink |
Shape: Radiate/Ligulate |
Bloom Months: Apr – Sep |
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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 | ||||
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SEED DESCRIPTION |
Steve Hurst
Click on image to enlarge it |
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Type: Fruit – Dry Seed Pod |
Description: small, dark, 4-angled pods |
Months in Seed: Fall |
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Plant spreads by: | ||||||
Seeds and Rhizomes/ Tubers/ Roots & Shoots Self-seeds, can become aggressive if conditions are right |
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS
Quick Fact Sheet (Condensed Species Info) |
QR Code (Links to this Webpage) |
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Plant ID Sign (Text Only): Ready as-is PDF |
Plant ID Sign (Text Only): Editable Word Doc |
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Plant ID Sign (With Picture): Ready as-is PDF |
Plant ID Sign (With Picture): Editable Word Doc |
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INFORMATION SOURCES FOR THIS PLANT