![]() Photo 4: This plant grew on an unstable shale slope (see Photo 7) so that this 9½-inch rootstock (asterisk to asterisk) became curved, and its single stub trended upslope. The growing root stubs are encircled by leaf scars. Plant at right also shown in Photo 1 (after being replanted). Photo 3: Vertical rootstocks develop near-surface “root stubs.” Crowns produce a rosette of leaves which may include a central flowering stem. Mature plants, with rootstocks to 2+ feet long, are drought tolerant. A rootstock may produce a half-dozen or more compact flowering stems. Stubs are encircled by thin scars of dropped leaves. Plants have a stout vertical rootstock with one or more, near-surface, lateral to ascending “root stubs” that develop leafy crowns. Blue flowers in background are Carolina Larkspur. Photo 2: These plants are on a well-drained, south-facing slope of a highway right-of-way. Photo 1: Long, pubescent, lanceolate leaves are characteristic of the species. Habitat preference is sunny sites with well drained soil: prairies, open woodlands, and rights-of-way. In Arkansas, except for eastern portion of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, plants grow statewide. Additionally, it is widely scattered in nearby states as well as farther to the east, possibly from introductions. ![]() In the U.S., the species occurs primarily from western Louisiana and eastern Oklahoma, east and north to Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois. The specific epithet is Latin for “pale” in reference to the color of the showy ray florets. The genus name is derived from a Greek word for “hedgehog” in reference to the spiny bracts covering the head. Pale Purple Coneflower ( Echinacea pallida) of the Aster or Composite (Asteraceae) family is a heavily pubescent herbaceous perennial with long lanceolate leaves and large, spectacular flowerheads.
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