Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses - Black-sampson echinacea

BLACK-SAMPSON ECHINACEA

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Echinacea angustifolia DC.

Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas

Perennial

Height: 6-24 inches

Family: Asteraceae - Sunflower Family

Flowering Period: June, July

Also Called:

Purple coneflower.

Stems:

Erect, 1 to several, straight or branched, stiff-hairy, especially above.

Leaves:

Alternate, simple, stalked below, sessile above, lanceolate to ovate, 2-12 inches long, 1/2 to 1 1/2 inch wide, progressively smaller above, coarse hairy, prominently 3-veined; margins mostly entire.

Inflorescences:

Heads, single, terminal, long-stalked.

Flowers:

Bracts lanceolate, 1/4 to 1/2 inch long, overlapping in 3 or 4 series; ray florets 12-20, pink to light purple, 1 to 1 1/2 inch long, 1/4 to 1/3 inch wide, drooping or spreading; disk florets 5-lobed, 1/4 to 1/3 inch long, numerous, brownish purple, interspersed among stiff, spiny-tipped, chaffy bracts; pollen grains yellow.

Fruits:

Achenes, small, 4-angled, tipped with crown of short-teeth, enclosing small seed.

Habitat:

Dry soils of open, rocky prairies.

Distribution:

Throughout except southeast corner.

Uses:

Black-sampson echinacea contains pain-reducing compounds and was used by Native Americans to treat toothaches, sore throats, mumps, wounds, and burns.

Comments:

Echinacea is from the Greek word for "hedgehog", which is in reference to the spiny bracts of the disk flowers. The taproot can grow to 5-8 feet, allowing the plant to survive periods of drought.

Black-sampson echinacea