Pale Purple Coneflower (Echinacea pallida)

Photographic Location: AEDC in Manchester Tennessee

This wildflower is a member of the Aster Family (Asteraceae).

Stout stems, 2-4 ft. tall, bear flowerheads having lavender, or rarely white, rays drooping from a large, spiny, cone-shaped center. The ray flowers vary in length and width. Coarse-haired, narrowly lance-shaped leaves are attached to the plant near its base.

I can be hard to distinguish this flower from Prairie Purple Coneflower (E. simulata). One way to tell is the pollen from E. simulata is yellow and the pollen from E. pallida is white.

Photographic Location: AEDC in Manchester, TN

This flower is rare in Tennessee and is endangered in TN.

For more information about this wildflower, Click Here.