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Echinacea purpurea
Eastern Purple Coneflower
Florida native
Endangered Florida species
A rare wildflower in Florida, naturally occurring only in the calcareous hammocks of Gadsden County. The range includes the southeastern United States extending west into Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado, north to Iowa, Wisconsin & Michigan, northeast into New York and Connecticut, plus Ontario.
Eastern purple coneflowers bloom from June to October. The conspicuous inflorescence is made up of reflexed purple ray flowers and a large orange disk with spiny bracts. The lanceolate leaves are 5-15 cm (2-6 in.) long, alternate, petioled, large toothed, and taper to a sharp point. Echinacea purpurea is a perennial with hairy stems growing from 61 to 91 cm (2-3 ft.) tall.
This is the only species of Echinacea - the purple coneflowers - in Florida.
Echinacea purpurea is a member of the Asteraceae - Aster family.
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Aug 22, 2020
