Echinacea purpurea Asteraceae
Common name: Eastern purple coneflower
About this species: E. purpurea belongs to a different clade than all other Echinacea species. Although it somewhat resembles E. angustifolia, it has larger flower heads and leaves with serrated edges. This species is not native to our study site, but has been planted in at least one prairie restoration within our research area.
- Breeding system: Self-incompatible
- Flowering phenology: June – September, peak around August.
The USDA plant profile page for Echinacea purpurea.
Team-members who have conducted research on this species: Lee Rodman
All Echinacea are said to be self-incompatible, but experimental evidence of this claim does not yet exist for some Echinacea species. In a breeding systems study in 2011, Lee Rodman found that E. purpurea is in fact self-incompatible, and exhibits style persistence as a sign of pollen limitation.
