Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses - Pale purple coneflower

PALE PURPLE CONEFLOWER

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Echinacea pallida (Nutt. ) Nutt.

Woodson County, Kansas

Perennial

Height: 16-36 inches

Family: Asteraceae - Sunflower Family

Flowering Period: May, June, July

Also Called:

Pale echinacea.

Stems:

Erect, 1 to several, simple or sometimes branched, coarsely hairy.

Leaves:

Alternate, simple, stalked, oblong lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 4-12 inches long, .5 to 1.5 inch wide, taper at both ends, surfaces rough, 3-veined; margins entire; upper leaves sessile, reduced in size.

Inflorescences:

Heads, single, terminal, long-stalked.

Flowers:

Bracts lanceolate to narrowly oblong, overlapping in 3 or 4 series; ray florets pinkish purple to whitish, 1.5 to 3.5 inches long, 1/4 to 1/3 inch wide, strongly drooping; disk florets 5-lobed, about 1/3 inch long, numerous, brownish purple, interspersed among stiff, spiny-tipped, chaffy bracts; pollen grains white.

Fruits:

Achenes, small, 4-sided, glabrous, tipped with toothed crown, enclosing small seed.

Habitat:

Dry, open rocky sites.

Distribution:

East 1/3 of Kansas.

Uses:

Native Americans used the leaves to treat rheumatism, mumps, and measles and the roots to treat burns and toothaches. The root was also chewed as a cold remedy and to increase saliva flow to prevent thirst. A tea made from powdered roots and leaves was drunk to treat sore gums and sore throats.

Pale purple coneflower leaves