Plant of the Week

Purple coneflower
Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench
other common names: black Samson, red sunflower
Echinacea: from the Greek, meaning “sea urchin” or “hedgehog,” referring to the sharp, spiny chaff on the domelike center of this flower
Purpurea: from the Greek, meaning “purple,” referring to the color of the ray flowers of some species
Daisy family: Asteraceae (Compositae)


Photograph by Thomas Rosburg, Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie: The Upper Midwest, Second Edition