Gray-headed Coneflower, Ratibida pinnata (Vent.) Barnhart, Native Minnesota Wildflower plant, Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden

	Plants of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden
	Common Name	Scientific Name	Plant Family	Garden Location	Prime Season
	Gray-headed Coneflower	Ratibida pinnata (Vent.) Barnhart	Aster (Asteraceae)	Upland	Late Summer to early Autumn
Other names and notes	(Pinnate Prairie Coneflower, Yellow Coneflower). This coneflower has about 10 to 13 yellow sterile ray flowers that are long, narrow, and drooping. The central disk is longer than it is wide, initially green to gray in color changing to dark brown, at which point is resembles the Green-headed coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata) except for the height of the disk and leaving the leaves to be the other distinguishing characteristic. The disk flowers are fertile, have a brown 5-lobed corolla, 5 stamens and mature to a dry seed. Stems 3 to 4 feet high, supporting one to several flower heads on tall bare stalks. Stems usually have hair and the leaves have a rough texture. The larger lower leaves are pinnately divided into 3 to 7 skeletal long stalked leaflets. Upper leaves are smaller and usually stalkless. It grows from a rhizome root system and tends to form clumps. A plant of sunny open dryer places, adapting to many soil types.



Above: Early appearing flowers in late-July. Note in the center photo the fertile disk flowers with a brown corolla.

Below: Leaves of Gray-headed Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata ) Left - upper leaf; right - mature lower leaf.

Below: Flowers of late summer. Below right: Flowers of mid-August on a clump among leaves of False Indigo. Far below left: The rhizomes of the root.

Notes: This plant was first introduced to the Garden by Eloise Butler on July 12, 1910 with plants she obtained from the grounds of the Agricultural College in St. Paul. She listed it under its older botanical name Lepachys pinnata. This plant was listed on Martha Crone's 1951 inventory of plants in the Garden at that time. It is native to Minnesota across the Southern third of the state and to a few counties in North Central. In North America is has much less range than the Green-headed Coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata) being found in the eastern half of the country only, excluding New England. In Canada it is known only from Ontario. The species name is Latin for "feather like" referring to the leaf shape.

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References: Plant characteristics are generally from sources 15, 16, 30, 31, 33, W2 & W3. Distribution principally from W2 and also 31, 34 and W1. Planting history generally from 1, 4 & 4a. Other sources by specific reference. See Reference List for details.

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