''Echinacea paradoxa'', the yellow coneflower, Bush's purple coneflower,''Echinacea paradoxa''
United States Department of Agriculture plants profile or Ozark coneflower, is a

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

n 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 southern

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, and south-central

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 ...

. It is listed as threatened in

.Flora of North America, ''Echinacea paradoxa'' (Norton) Britton
/ref>

Description

''Echinacea paradoxa'' is a

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 ...

herb up to tall with multiple, slightly hairy stems arising from the rootstock. Most of the leaves are basal leaves with smooth margins. They are alternate, becoming shorter higher up on the stem, and they are completely absent on the upper two-thirds of the stem. The basal leaves are long and narrowly elliptic to

lanceolate The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...

, and the stem leaves are long and linear to narrowly elliptic or narrowly lanceolate. One plant can produce several

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 with white, pink, or yellow

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 ...

surrounding a central head of numerous disk florets. Each flower head is about across. The central head is dome-shaped and dark reddish brown to nearly black. It is prickly to the touch. It blooms in May and June.

Taxonomy

;Varieties * ''Echinacea paradoxa'' var. ''paradoxa'' - yellow rays -

and

- yellow coneflower or Ozark coneflower * ''Echinacea paradoxa'' var.''neglecta'' - pink or white rays

and

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 ...

- Bush's purple coneflower ''Echinacea paradoxa'' var. ''paradoxa'' has a baseline chromosome number of x = 11, like most ''Echinacea'' plants.Smith, E. B., P. E. Hyatt, and K. Golden. 1992. Documented chromosome numbers 1992: 1. Chromosome numbers of some Arkansas flowering plants. Sida 15:145–146.

Distribution and habitat

''Echinacea paradoxa'' var. ''paradoxa'', or yellow coneflower, is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover ...

of Missouri and Arkansas. It is listed as imperiled in Arkansas. ''Echinacea paradoxa'' var. ''neglecta'', or Bush's purple coneflower, is currently only known to exist in the wild in the

Arbuckle Mountains The Arbuckle Mountains are an ancient mountain range in south-central Oklahoma in the United States. They lie in Murray County, Oklahoma, Murray, Carter County, Oklahoma, Carter, Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, Pontotoc, and Johnston County, Oklahoma, ...

region of southeastern Oklahoma. One isolated population was reported from Montgomery County in eastern

. It is listed as critically imperiled in Oklahoma and presumed

extirpated Local extinction, also extirpation, is the termination of a species (or other taxon) in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinctions. Local extinctions mark a chan ...

in Texas. Habitats include partially sunny to sunny savannas, glades, limestone outcroppings, barrens, open hillsides, and bald knobs.

Gallery

Image:Echinacea.paradoxa01.jpg, Illustration Image:Yellow Coneflower Echinacea paradoxa Horizontal 3008px.jpg, Flower Image:Echinacea paradoxa - yellow coneflower - desc-flower from above.jpg, Flower from above Image:Yellow Coneflower Echinacea paradoxa Single Flower Bee 1895px.jpg, Flower and a bee Image:Yellow Coneflower Echinacea paradoxa Closeup Bee 3008px.jpg, Flower closeup with a bee

References

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q950562 Garden plants of North America Plants described in 1902 paradoxa Flora of the United States