This week and next could be your last chance this year to see a proliferation of pale purple coneflowers in northern Illinois natural areas.
But wait, purple coneflowers bloom in July and August, right? Well, yes they do, but I’m talking about pale purple coneflower, (Echinacea pallida), not the eastern purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), both of which grow wild here.
The pale purple coneflower often gets ignored, with more attention placed on the eastern purple coneflower. It’s certainly made a home in many suburban gardens, including mine, where I’ve planted it to coincide with the blooming of black-eyed Susans.
Eastern purple coneflowers, that will begin blooming soon and proliferate in July and August, have 2- to 4-foot stems with slightly drooping, bright lavender-purple flower rays surrounding a brown center.
The pale purple coneflower has longer and narrower leaves compared with the eastern purple. Its flower rays are thinner and a softer, pinkish-lavender. What I like about it most is its wilder, unkempt look. Over the years of studying native plants, I’ve come to love the pale purple coneflower even more, and there’s one place I go this time of year to witness hundreds in bloom on a hillside overlooking the sparkling Lake Defiance up the Oak Opening trail at Moraine Hills State Park.
Last year, the pale purple coneflowers were blooming there on July 2, but this year I found them on June 19, which is early. In fact, the butterfly weed, another native plant that typically blooms later in summer, was already showing its orange flowers.
The thin flower rays of the pale coneflower curled and bent in the wind, like a woman’s long hair flows erratically in a convertible.
The blooms seemed vulnerable, and yet strong at the same time.
This is a true prairie plant that settlers would have encountered in this region. It tolerates drought, heat and poor soils. Even with the moderate drought we’re experiencing here, the pale purple coneflowers are blooming profusely.
Some botanists say that this is the only true native Echinacea in the Chicago region. The eastern purple coneflower gardeners often plant is native to the eastern United States, but likely wasn’t common here before settlement. Some believe that gardeners planted the eastern prairie coneflower because of its long-lasting, brightly colored blooms, and then it began to grow in the wild in this region.
The eastern purple is not as drought-resistant as its cousin, the pale purple coneflower, but its blooms do last longer.
I used to see scores of eastern purple coneflowers planted in prairie restorations, but now more of the pale purples are being planted in this region. One place I noticed them was at a large field at Prairie Crossing in Grayslake.
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Echinacea species attract butterflies, hummingbirds and native bees for their nectar, and birds such as American goldfinches for their seeds. Parts of the plant have been uses as medicine by Native Americans to treat infections and wounds. Echinacea tea today is touted for its ability to boost the immune system.
I suggest boosting your mood by getting out now to find a patch of wild blooming pale purple coneflowers.
Sheryl DeVore has worked as a full-time and freelance reporter, editor and photographer for the baiduhai and its subsidiaries. She’s the author of several books on nature and the environment. Send story ideas and thoughts to [email protected].