purple coneflowers

(Echinacea spp.)

Overview
purple coneflower (Echinacea sp.)
Photo by Alfredo Colon
 

Echinacea is the genus of flowering plants that contains purple coneflowers and a single yellow coneflower. Some sources (iNaturalist) use the common name “coneflowers” for the genus. The preferred name “purple coneflower” distinguishes this genus from prairie coneflower (Ratibita) and coneflower (Rudbeckia). There are 10 species of Echinacea, all of them in North America east of the Rocky mountains.

 
 

Only one species, Echinacea angustifolia, is native to Minnesota. One species, Echinacea purpurea, is often imported in seed mixes purchased from other states where it is not native by city, county, regional, and state parks, and by prairie restorations. Some species are cultivated as ornamentals.

 
     
 
Description
 
 

Purple coneflowers have erect stems up to 4 tall, alternate leaves, and large, showy, composite flower heads. Most have unbranched stems; hairy, rough-textured, untoothed leaves; and large, showy flower heads with purple to pink or white corollas and spreading or drooping ray florets.

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 24, 28, 29, 30.

 
  5/31/2023      
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Kingdom Plantae (green algae and land plants)  
  Subkingdom Viridiplantae (green plants)  
  Infrakingdom Streptophyta (land plants and green algae)  
  Superdivision Embryophyta (land plants)  
  Division Tracheophyta (vascular plants)  
  Subdivision Spermatophytina (seed plants)  
  Class Magnoliopsida (flowering plants)  
  Superorder Asteranae  
 

Order

Asterales (sunflowers, bellflowers, fanflowers, and allies)  
 

Family

Asteraceae (sunflowers, daisies, asters, and allies)  
  Subfamily Asteroideae  
  Supertribe Helianthodae  
  Tribe Heliantheae (sunflowers and allies)  
  Subtribe Zinniinae  
       
 

Subordinate Taxa

 
 

eastern purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

narrow-leaved purple coneflower (Echinacea angustifolia)

pale purple coneflower (Echinacea pallida)

sanguine purple coneflower (Echinacea sanguinea)

smooth purple coneflower (Echinacea laevigata)

Tennessee purple coneflower (Echinacea tennesseensis)

Topeka purple coneflower (Echinacea atrorubens)

wavyleaf purple coneflower (Echinacea simulata)

yellow coneflower (Echinacea paradoxa)

 
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

 

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

coneflower

purple coneflower

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Visitor Photos
 
           
 

Share your photo of this plant.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Attach one or more photos and, if you like, a caption.
 
 

Alfredo Colon

 
    purple coneflower (Echinacea sp.)      
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
 

 

 
           

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
 
     
     

 

slideshow

       
 
Visitor Videos
 
       
 

Share your video of this plant.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Attach a video, a YouTube link, or a cloud storage link.
 
 

 

 
     
     
       
       
 
Other Videos
 
     
     
     

 

Camcorder

 
 
Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

Report a sighting of this plant.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Be sure to include a location.
 
  Alfredo Colon
8/2/2019

Location: Woodbury, Minnesota

purple coneflower (Echinacea sp.)  
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
 

Blaine Preserve SNA

Blanket Flower Prairie SNA

Blazing Star Prairie Addition Preserve, South Unit

Blue Mounds State Park

Buffalo River State Park

Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center

Carver Highlands WMA, South Unit

Chippewa Prairie

Clifton E. French Regional Park

Clinton Prairie SNA

Compass Prairie SNA

Cottonwood River Prairie SNA

Crosby Farm Regional Park

Crow Wing State Park

Des Moines River SNA

Dodge Nature Center

Elm Creek Park Reserve

Felton Prairie SNA, Bicentennial Unit

Fort Ridgely State Park

Frenchman’s Bluff SNA

Glacial Lakes State Park

Glendalough State Park

Glynn Prairie SNA

Hole-in-the-Mountain Prairie

Holthe Prairie SNA

John Murtaugh Memorial WMA

John Peter Hoffman Spring Brook Valley WMA

Joseph A. Tauer Prairie SNA

Keller Regional Park

Kilen Woods State Park

Lake Byllesby Regional Park

Lake Carlos State Park

Lake Louise State Park

Langhei Prairie SNA

Leif Mountain

Margherita Preserve-Audubon Prairie

McKnight Prairie

Minneopa State Park

Minnesota Valley NWR, Long Meadow Lake Unit

Minnesota Valley NWR, Rapids Lake Unit

Mississippi River County Park

Morton Outcrops SNA

Mound Spring Prairie SNA, North Unit

Northern Tallgrass Prairie NWR, Pavia Unit

Minnesota Valley NWR, Rapids Lake Unit

Northern Tallgrass Prairie NWR, Rengstorf Unit

Northern Tallgrass Prairie NWR, Touch the Sky Prairie Unit

Old Mill State Park

Ordway Prairie

Osmundson Prairie SNA

Oxbow Park & Zollman Zoo

Pembina Trail Preserve SNA, Crookston Prairie Unit

Pembina Trail Preserve SNA, Pembina Trail Unit

Pin Oak Prairie SNA

Plover Prairie, East Unit

Prairie Coteau SNA

Regal Meadow

Richard M. & Mathilde Rice Elliott SNA

Rockville County Park

Roscoe Prairie SNA

Sandpiper Prairie SNA

Santee Prairie SNA

Savage Fen SNA

Schaefer Prairie

Sheepberry Fen

Sibley State Park

Spring Lake Park Reserve

Spring Lake Regional Park

Staffanson Prairie

Strandness Prairie

Thorson Prairie WMA

Tiedemann WMA

Tribute WMA

Twin Lakes SNA

Twin Valley Prairie SNA

Twin Valley WMA: North Unit

Verlyn Marth Memorial Prairie SNA

Whitetail Woods Regional Park

William O’Brien State Park

Woodbury WMA

Yellow Bank Hills SNA

Zimmerman Prairie

 

 

 

Binoculars


Created: 11/13/2019

Last Updated:

About Us | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | © MinnesotaSeasons.com.com. All rights reserved.