Purple coneflower is a wildflower native to the central and eastern United States, with pink-purple petals around a raised, spiny-looking center. It is a familiar garden plant whose flowers attract bees and butterflies and whose seeds feed songbirds.
Appearance
- Growth form
- This clump-forming perennial usually grows 3–4 ft (0.9–1.2 m) tall on stiff upright stems.
- Leaves
- The rough, dark green leaves grow one at a time along the stem. Lower leaves are broad and stalked, while upper leaves become smaller and narrower.
- Flowers
- Each flower head can be up to 5 in (13 cm) across, with a raised purplish-brown center and pink-purple petal-like parts that spread or droop.
- Flowering time
- In North Carolina it blooms from June through August, and some plants continue into fall.
- Fruit
- The mature center holds many small, dark, four-sided dry fruits.
Look-alikes
Narrow-leaved Purple Coneflower has leaves mostly less than 1 in (2.5 cm) wide and concentrated low on the stem. Purple Coneflower usually has broader, often toothed lower leaves.
Why they get mixed upBoth have pink-purple petal-like parts around a prickly-looking brown cone.
Pale Purple Coneflower has very long, narrow, strongly drooping petal-like parts and narrow leaves clustered low on the stem. Its fresh pollen is white; Purple Coneflower has broader leaves and yellow pollen.
Why they get mixed upThe flower heads overlap in color and general shape.
Common Zinnia has leaves in opposite pairs without stalks that clasp the stem, and many garden forms have densely layered petals. Single-flowered Purple Coneflower has leaves that grow one at a time along the stem and a stiff, spiny-looking center.
Why they get mixed upBoth are common summer garden flowers with large daisy-shaped heads.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- open woods
- prairies
- meadows
- gardens
- Range
- It is native to parts of the central and eastern United States, from the Midwest into the Southeast. Garden plantings have also spread it beyond its original range.
- Preferred conditions
- It grows best in sun to part shade and moist, well-drained soil, but established plants tolerate heat and some drought.
- Flowering
Flowers Jun–Aug
Flowers Jun–Aug
Growing it
- Care
- It is hardy in hardiness zones 3–8 and can be propagated by seed or division. Leaving some dry flower heads provides seeds for birds.
- Propagation
- Plants grow readily from seed and may reseed in a garden; crowded clumps can also be divided.
Name and classification
- Varieties and forms
- Even white, double-flowered, or dwarf garden plants can still be purple coneflower .
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
- Status
- Wild populations can still be rare or lost in parts of individual states.
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- The genus name comes from a Greek word for hedgehog or sea urchin, referring to the sharp-looking center.
- Several Native American peoples used coneflowers historically, and the plant later became widely sold in herbal products. A garden plant should not be used as medicine without reliable identification and professional guidance.
12 sources
- iNaturalist API: Echinacea purpurea
- The IUCN Red List: Echinacea purpurea
- 국가생물종목록: 현화식물
- Echinacea purpurea — NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
- エキナセア（ムラサキバレンギク）— 神戸薬科大学薬用植物園
- Echinacea angustifolia — NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
- Echinacea pallida — NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
- Zinnia elegans — NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
- 자주천인국 — 국립생물자원관
- 에키네시아 — 농촌진흥청
- Pollinator Plants for the Garden — University of Illinois Extension
- Echinacea purpurea — Curtis’s Botanical Magazine