''Echinacea angustifolia'', the narrow-leaved purple coneflower or blacksamson echinacea, is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the family

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

. It is native to North America, where it is widespread across much of the

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

of central

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the central

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, with additional populations in surrounding regions.Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
/ref> ''E. angustifolia'' is a perennial herb with spindle-shaped

taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproot ...

s that are often branched. The

stem Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

s and

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are moderately to densely hairy. The plant produces

flower heads A pseudanthium (; : pseudanthia) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, composite flowers ...

each at the end of a long peduncle. Each flower head contains 8–21 pink or purple

ray florets Asteraceae () is a large family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchidaceae, and which is the larger fa ...

plus 80–250 orange

disc floret Asteraceae () is a large family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchidaceae, and which is the larger fa ...

s.Flora of North America, Narrow-leaved purple coneflower, blacksamson echinacea, ''Echinacea angustifolia'' de Candolle in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 5: 554. 1836.
/ref> ''Echinacea angustifolia'' blooms in late spring to mid-summer. Two subspecies are used by some botanists, but are regarded as illegitimate by

Flora of North America The ''Flora of North America North of Mexico'' (usually referred to as ''FNA'') is a multivolume work describing the native plants and naturalized plants of North America, including the United States, Canada, St. Pierre and Miquelon, and Greenla ...

(FNA) and

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

(POWO): *''Echinacea angustifolia subsp. angustifolia'' is native to central

and the central

from

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

and

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

in the north to

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, and

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

in the south. *''Echinacea angustifolia subsp. strigosa'' has a more limited range in

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, and

Morphology

The word "Echinacea" is derived from the Greek word "echinos" which means sea urchin or hedgehog; a feature that can be observed in the flower head of the plant.Vaverkova, Stefania, Mistríková, Ingrid, and Vaverková, Štefánia. "Morphology and Anatomy of Echinacea Purpurea, E. Angustifolia, E. Pallida and Parthenium Integrifolium." Biologia 62.1 (2007): 2-5. Web. ''Echinacea angustifolia'' is about 10–50 cm in length. The plant consists of white to pink or deep purple flower petals that characteristically wilt downwards, while the ray florets of the flower head range from green to red-brown in color. The leaves are dark green and can be oblong-lanceolate or elliptical in shape. The plant has pubescent stems with rhizomes present underground.

Reproduction and life cycle

The plant does not self pollinate and requires assistance from bee pollinators in the reproduction process.Ison, J.L., Wagenius, S., Reitz, D. and Ashley, M.V. (2014), Mating between ''Echinacea angustifolia'' (Asteraceae) individuals increases with their flowering synchrony and spatial proximity. American Journal of Botany, 101: 180-189. In ''Echinacea angustifolia'' there is greater success in pollination between mates that are at a closer proximity between one another. ''Echinacea angustifolia'' is an

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

plant, producing flowers and living more than two years at a time. The plant is known to grow at a slow rate and is drought-resistant to help the plant survive in its temperate grassland habitat.

Chemistry

Greater root density is observed in ''Echinacea angustifolia'' growing in higher latitude, in turn, producing a greater quantity of

polyphenol Polyphenols () are a large family of naturally occurring phenols. They are abundant in plants and structurally diverse. Polyphenols include phenolic acids, flavonoids, tannic acid, and ellagitannin, some of which have been used historically as ...

s and alkylamides available in the root

extract An extract (essence) is a substance made by extracting a part of a raw material, often by using a solvent such as ethanol, oil or water. Extracts may be sold as tinctures or absolutes or dried and powdered. The aromatic principles of ma ...

.Aiello, Nicola et al. “Evaluation of the Farming Potential of ''Echinacea Angustifolia'' DC. Accessions Grown in Italy by Root-Marker Compound Content and Morphological Trait Analyses.” ''Plants (Basel, Switzerland)'' vol. 9,7 873. 9 Jul. 2020, Although it is used in

herbal medicine Herbal medicine (also called herbalism, phytomedicine or phytotherapy) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. Scientific evidence for the effectiveness of many herbal treatments ...

there is mixed consensus that it is effective or safe for treating disease.''Echinacea angustifolia''.
United States Department of Agriculture NRCS Plant Guide.

Range and habitat

''Echinacea angustifolia'' grows in the drier parts of the

tallgrass prairie The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America. Historically, natural and Historical ecology#Anthropogenic fire, anthropogenic fire, as well as grazing by large mammals (primarily bison) provided periodic disturbances to th ...

, the

mixed grass prairie A mixed-grass prairie is an ecotone located between the tallgrass prairies and shortgrass prairies. The mixed-grass prairie is richer in botanical diversity than either the tall- or shortgrass prairie. The mixed-grass prairie occurs in the Cen ...

, and the

shortgrass prairie The shortgrass prairie is an ecosystem located in the Great Plains of North America. The two most dominant grasses in the shortgrass prairie are blue grama (''Bouteloua gracilis'') and buffalograss (''Bouteloua dactyloides''), the two less domin ...

in North America, in a range of soils from rocky to sandy-clay. It is recorded by the USDA

Natural Resources Conservation Service Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), formerly known as the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provides technical assistance to farmers and other private landowners and ...

PLANTS database (PLANTS) as growing in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Manitoba, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Saskatchewan, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming. The FNA largely agrees with this, but do not record it in New York and PLANTS only records it in Monroe County, NY.

Cultivation

The wildflower gardening author Claude A. Barr regarded narrow-leaved purple coneflower as, "bold, spectacular, and beautiful." Though he did disagree with the common name, pointing out that it is more pink than purple in most cases. Though gravelly or stony soil is a preference of the plant in the wild, they survive in normal garden soil provided they are not crowded by other plants. Most often it is propagated by seed, but can also be grown from around 10 centimeter sections of taproot from younger plants. They are set upright under 2–3 centimeters of soil with controlled moisture to start new root and top growth.

References

{{Authority control angustifolia Garden plants of North America Drought-tolerant plants Flora of Manitoba Flora of Saskatchewan Flora of Colorado Flora of Louisiana Flora of Wyoming Flora of the North-Central United States Flora of the South-Central United States