This summer, Team Echinacea will be conducting ACE (Always Counting Echinacea, Achene Chaos Extraordinaire, Awesome Collaborative Experience, etc.) on the flowering echinacea heads collected during the 2025 field season to measure pollination success. For each head, the end goal is to get an accurate count of the number of achenes produced and the seed viability. Click here to learn more about echinacea seedheads.
Currently, we are working on both completing the inventory on 2025 collected heads and have begun cleaning (i.e. removing seeds from) high priority heads for three experiments: exPt08, polLim (pollen limited), and aphids. This has provided the team with a much needed indoor task during recent 90° and/or poor air quality afternoons.
So far, we’ve completed inventory for our 1st and 2nd priority bags of echinacea heads and 45% of our 3rd priority bags. For cleaning, we have completed all of polLim, are halfway through exPt08, and have yet to begin aphids. Still a ways to go!
During the cleaning process, we found a little stowaway in one of the heads. Our visiting lepidopterist Michael LaScaleia put our new friend under the microscope and declared him living! Shortly after, we rehomed the little guy. Since his chance of success is so low, no name has been given out of fear of attachment.
More updates on ACE to come!
Leave a Reply