Plant: Purple Coneflower
 

Name:Echinacea purpurea	Description: Aster family (Asteraceae) Plants to 5' tall with much-branched stems, although plants are fewer branched and shorter in exposed sites. The rough leaves are coarsly toothed, alternate, mostly stalked, up to 8" long and 5" wide, and wedest near the base. Flower heads are on individual stalks near the tops of the stems, with each head 2 1/2-5" wide and consisting of up to 20 purple petal-like ray flowers surrounding a cone shaped head of disk flowers.   Habitat/Range: Occasional in prairies and opend woodlands, usually in moister sites than Pale Purple Coneflower; scattered through the tallgrass region west to souteastern Kansas. (Falcon Guide- Tallgrass Prairie Wildflowers)	Discussion: this plant is a popular ornamental, and many populations are escapes from cultivation. The plants are typically branched, with much wider leaves than Pale Purple Coneflower. (Falcon Guide)
Image:	Location: N39° 36.728                  W 087°  41.448

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