This native perennial has one to several stems 1-2 feet tall bearing flowers that come in two color forms.  The flowers in our local native prairies and most of those in our reconstructions have yellow ray florets (C,D). The red and purple color variants sometimes called “Mexican hat” are most commonly seen for sale in nurseries and garden centers, but occasionally occur in the wild as well. Photos (A,B) are from Nebraska Prairie at Neale Woods where they were in the seed mix used for the restoration.

More details on Prairie Coneflower can be found in the Yellow Wildflowers (April-June) section.