Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Wildflower Wednesday: A Different Kind of Coneflower




Every time I go to the MG Idea Garden to work, I pass by one of my favorite places, Meadowbrook Park with its prairie restoration area.  All summer I thought to myself that I would go work in the garden for a couple of hours and then take some time for a walk through this prairie area.  But the intense heat of this summer has foiled my plans--by the time I leave the Idea Garden, I am soaked through with perspiration and ready to find a cool spot to sit down, not put on my walking shoes and put in 30 minutes of exercise.  As a result, I've seen the big show of prairie blooms only from a distance as I whizzed by in my car.


Last Thursday, though, with Wildflower Wednesday in mind, I stopped, not to walk, but to see what was blooming in late July and to capture a few photographs.  One of the most prominent flowers right now is the Gray-headed coneflower, Ratibida pinnata. On one of my first posts about this prairie planting, I misidentified this plant as a Rudbeckia, but a reader kindly corrected me. There are so many native yellow wildflowers, including many varieties of Rudbeckia and Helianthus, that even with my trusty wildflower book, I have trouble seeing the distinctions among them.  But once you've become familiar with this coneflower, it's easy to recognize it immediately.  The most distinguishing features are their yellow ray flowers which droop downward from a conical disk about 3/4" tall.  Before opening, the disks are an ashy gray, which is where they get their name.


The Gray-headed coneflowers grow on slender stalks up to 5 feet tall. Like their counterparts, the purple coneflowers, Echinacea purpurea, the Ratibida are popular with wildlife.  In the previous photo, you can see something, possibly goldfinches though I didn't see any on this day, has already devoured some of the seeds from the central disks.



Many of the native plants in this prairie area have already finished blooming, while a few others, such as the ironweed and asters won't be blooming until fall.  But one other plant was noticeable on this hot July day.  Those who attended the garden bloggers' gathering in Buffalo a few weeks ago raved about the bee balm they saw everywhere, so they will quickly recognize this plant, Wild Bergamot, Monarda fistulosa.  Though definitely not as showy as its cultivated relatives, these natives are common throughout the state, not only in restored areas like this one, but also along roadsides.



A member of the mint family, native Monarda can grow up to 5 feet tall with fragrant flowers that form dense round heads.

Many Native American tribes made tea from the flowerheads and leaves to treat colds, fevers, whooping cough, abdominal pain, headaches, and as a stimulant. Chewed leaves were placed on wounds under a bandage to stop the flow of blood.  Wild bergamot is still used in herbal teas.
  (from Illinois Wildflowers by Don Kurz)


I apologize for the lack of good photos--it was windy on this day, and the blooms wouldn't stop moving.  I do have some cultivars of Monarda in my garden, but they're past blooming.  And I had hoped to have some native Gray-headed coneflowers of my own to share this year, but they were the victims of a seed mix-up . . . a story for another day.

Wildflower Wednesday was begun by native enthusiast Gail of Clay and Limestone.  Do stop by and visit her for more features on some native wildflowers.

32 comments:

  1. As always, I do appreciate your comments. I will try to catch up on visiting everyone over the next few days, but my youngest daughter--and dear Coconut--flew home yesterday for a month's stay. It has been nearly a year since she has been home! Next weekend her older sister comes home for several days, so I know you'll understand that I'm going to take advantage of as much family time as possible.

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  2. Glad you joined the celebration and I know what it means to have a dear child visit! Have a wonderful time.

    Love the wildflowers you have shared~~and just treated myself to Ratibida pinnata. Next year some big yellow flowers for sure!

    Now have fun~

    gail

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  3. Perfect photos to me. I've never heard of the gray headed coneflower. It is really neat and sure goes well with that bergamot. Say cool, hot here too but I'm itching to get sweaty and do some work-today hopefully.

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  4. Have fun visiting with your family.

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  5. I grow the Monarda and the Gray headed coneflower in my garden. The hummingbirds and bees love them.

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  6. Oh my Rose, I've wanted the m.fistulosa and the ratibida for a while, and now I want them more!

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  7. Prairie coneflowers are so pretty. I did have a plant in my garden a few years ago but lost it over the winter. I think it is also called Mexican hat plant.

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  8. Rose....enjoy your family, it is more important than anything else.

    I love the gray-headed coneflower, it looks as though it is weeping. Very touching....
    One day I hope to walk the prairie, for me that would be a dream come true.......

    I have tried and tried to grow monarda here, they never do particularly well......they have such an unusual flower.

    Beautiful post......

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  9. Rose, I know you'll have a wonderful visit with the family. I'm undecided whether to introduce that Ratibida to my corner bed. They tend to get a little aggressive in that space (part of what makes them such great meadow plants!).

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  10. Yes, enjoy your family time, and we'll enjoy your wildflower pictures. Curious about that seed mix-up...

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  11. They look good in their natural surroundings. The grey-headed coneflower looks very familiar to me. I wonder if it is in Oklahoma?

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  12. There are so many beautiful wild flowers when we stop and look.

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  13. the gray headed coneflower is so attractive with its little drooping petals. I do not have any in the garden but am making a note for next year.

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  14. You're so right bout the coneflowers, the Echinaceas, the Rudbeckias and the rest of the sunflower family. Very confusing. I didn't know the botanical name of this coneflower. Thanks and Happy WW to you.~~Dee

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  15. Have a wonderful time with your girls Rose!!!

    I love the gray-headed coneflower, and the fistulosa. I have one of the monardas blooming here too, got it from our local native plants nursery last year, and was so happy to see it blooming.

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  16. Hope you have some sweet family time.

    Love the Monarda. That is another one I would have loved to feature for Colorado Natives. I guess there are a lot of varieties. The kind that grow here seem to get powdery mildew a lot.

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  17. Have fun with your daughters! And thanks for pointing out yellow coneflower...I think it gets obscured in term of native plants because everyone thinks of purple coneflower and doesn't realize there's a different yellow species.

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  18. Wonderful photos! We will try again to grow some of the gray headed coneflowers. :) Have loads of fun with daughter and grand dog.

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  19. Enjoy, Rose! Love the post :)

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  20. Hello Rose,

    I do love all kinds of coneflowers and how their centers stretch up from the petals.

    Our humid season has begun with humidity ranging between 30 - 40%, which as you know is quite humid for us desert-dwellers :-)

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  21. Hi Rose, not surprisingly I have some of the same flowers blooming on my farm. The monarda is cute but the plants here are covered in mildew and look pretty bad. Guess the butterflies and hummers don't care how the foliage looks.

    Was thinking about trying to get the seed of one gray headed coneflower and see how it does in my garden.

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  22. Ratibida pinnata is my favorite of the yellow coneflowers. I even like the seedheads. I also have to go to the prairie to see them, so I appreciate your photos of them.

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  23. It always amazes me how beautiful nature can be for us in the middle of a summer heat wave! Native Wildflowers are the best and your pictures are wonderful :-)

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  24. I do love the grey-headed coneflower and always mean to grow it. Perhaps you'll save some seeds for my/the seed swap. :)

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  25. I will have to try the Gray-Headed Coneflower in the wildflower meadow. It's lovely.

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  26. Great photos Rose. I wondered why they called that yellow flower a gray cone. Ha.. I hope you have a great time with your girls. What fun having them home so long.

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  27. Lovely to walk through a meadow with such color! I love wildflowers..in fact in my NEW home with a woodland garden I shall scatter wildflower seeds and just watch what sprouts!Exciting times here! smiling anna

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  28. love those yellow coneflowers :)
    have a great time with your daughter <3

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  29. Nice Job, Rose. I always forget to include information about these coneflowers... Now I don't have to! ;-)

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  30. Oh Rose, I am so glad you have family visiting! I can't believe it's been a whole year since your daughter was home! Time sure flies.

    I love your pics. They look clear to me, and I would have thought those yellow cone-flowers were "black-eyed susans". My favourite flower when I was a child.
    Hugs

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  31. I was just telling another blogger I think I am going to try my wildflowers next year. I think they will like this hot dry heat better.

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  32. Love that Ratibida, especially with the purple coneflowers. The MG Idea Garden sure sounds like a nice place to put in some of those volunteer hours!

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