Plant Preference/Growing Conditions:

The plant grows up to 5 feet tall.  Prefers full sun (6 or more hous of direct sunlight a day) then partial shade. Grows best in soil conditions of clay loam istead of sandy loam soils in full sun and is adaptable to dry to moist conditions and various soils.

Growth Habit/Description:

It mainly habitates prairies, meadows, thickets, banks, and woodland edges.

Bloom Season:

Blooms early to late summer. The prairie coneflowers bloom at the top of each stem. Produces a yellow or gold coloring, shaped radial with 6-13 petals or rays, and surround a central grey dome of disc flowers.

Fall and/or Winter Interest?

Yes. It sows unstratified seed in fall and seeds are mature in autumn.

Host Plant for Polinaters?

Yes.  It is the host plant for butterflies, bees, pollinators, and songbirds.It is a larval host to silvery checkerspot butterfly, wavy-line emerald moth, and the common eupithecia moth. Native bees that commonly use grey-headed coneflowers are sweat bees, bumble bees, long-horned bees, and lefcutter bees. Butterflies such as viceroys, monarchs, azures, sulphurs, crescents, and hairstreaks will commonly visit.

Other Known Ecological Value?

Yes.  Resistance to drought and poor soil. After the flowers go to seed, birds such as the goldfinches and other songbirds will eat the seeds.

Origin of Name: . First named by Constantine Rafinesque-Schmaltz (17830-1840), and eccentric botanist who traveled extensively in areas east of the Mississippi River. Pinnata is Latin for "feather-like" and refers to the leaves.

Related Plant Species:   Related species are Ratibida columnifera, Ratibida peduncularis, Ratibida, and Ratibida tagetes.

Special Features:  The seeds attracive to birds especially winter finches. THe beautiful flowers last a long time and hold up well in bouquets.

BONAP's North American Plant Atlas. “Ratibida pinnata (Prairie coneflower).” bonap.net,[Cited 2024, September 18]. 
Available from: https://bonap.net/Napa/TaxonMaps/Genus/County/Ratibida. 

Landy Bird Jojson wildflower center “Raibida pinnata” (Prairie coneflower) University of Texas at Austin, 

[Cited 2024, September 18].

Available from: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=RAPI

North Carolina Extension Gardener plant toolbox, "Ratibida pinnata" (Prairie coneflower) plants.ces.ncsu.edu, [Cited 18, September 2024]. 
Available from: https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/ratibida-pinnata/ 

Friends of the Arboretum Native Plant Sale "Ratibida pinnata" (Yellow coneflower) arboretum.wisc.edu [Cited 18, September 2024]. 
Available from: https://arboretum.wisc.edu/content/uploads/2015/03/PI_Yellow-Coneflower.pdf

Pollinator Partnership Spotlight, Plant Profile: Yellow Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata) By Laura Jach Smith, pollinator.org [Cited 2, October 2024]

Availabe From:

https://pollinator.org/pollinator.org/assets/globals/Pollinator-Partnership-Spotlight_Plant-profile-for-yellow-coneflower.pdf 

Backyard Ecology TM, Plant Highlights Grey-headed Coneflower, (Ritibida pinnata) , backyardecology.net [cited 2, October 2024)

Available From:

https://www.backyardecology.net/grey-headed-coneflower/ 

Last edited by Lindsey Cox , October 2024.