Echinacea pallida
{{short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{speciesbox
|image=Echinacea_pallida_(8).jpg
|image_caption=
|genus=Echinacea
|species=pallida
|status=G4
|status_system=TNC
|synonyms_ref={{ThePlantList}}
|synonyms=*Rudbeckia pallida Nutt.
- Brouneria pallida Britton
}}
Echinacea pallida, the pale purple coneflower, is a species of herbaceous perennial plant in the family Asteraceae. It is sometimes grown in gardens and used for medicinal purposes. Its native range is the central region of the United States and Ontario, Canada.
Description
Echinacea pallida is similar to E. angustifolia, but plants often grow taller, ranging from {{convert|1.5|to|2.5|ft|cm|round=5|abbr=on}} tall, with some growing {{convert|3|feet|cm|round=5|abbr=on}} or more tall. Plants normally grow with one unbranched stem in the wild, but often produce multi-stemmed clumps in gardens. They have deep taproots that are spindle shaped, wider in the center and narrowing at the ends. Stems are green or mottled with purple and green. The leaves are elongated lanceolate or linear-lanceolate with three veins and are concentrated at the base of the stem. Flower head rays are narrow, linear, elongated, and drooping, ranging from {{convert|1|to|3|in|cm|abbr=out}} long. The flower heads are from {{convert|3/4|to|3|in|cm|abbr=out}} wide with pale rose-purple or nearly white ray florets. The flowers have white pollen. Echinacea pallida blooms from May into July. The fruits are cypselae and are tan or bi-colored with angled edges.{{eFloras|1 |family=Heliantheae |first1=Lowell E. |last1=Urbatsch |first2=Kurt M. |last2=Neubig |first3=Patricia B. |last3=Cox}}Britton, N., & Brown, A. (1913). An illustrated flora of the Northern United States, Canada from Newfoundland to the parallel of the southern boundary of Virginia, and from the Atlantic Ocean westward to the 102nd meridian. [S.l.]: Scribner. {{ISBN|0-486-22644-1}}
Distribution
It is found in the Mississippi Valley, the southeastern Great Plains, and the region south of Lake Michigan. Most of the known populations are in the region from southern Wisconsin and Iowa south to Louisiana and eastern Texas, with additional reports (many of them likely from introductions) in the Southeastern United States, New England, New York, Michigan, and Ontario.{{BONAP|ref |genus=Echinacea |species=pallida}}
Habitat and range
Echinacea pallida grows in prairies and prairie remnant sites and requires full sun exposure with well-draining soil.{{Cite web |title=Pale Purple Coneflower (Echinacea pallida) |url=https://apps.dnr.wi.gov/biodiversity/home/detail/plants/8691 |access-date=2024-12-06 |website=apps.dnr.wi.gov}} While it prefers moist soils, it is drought tolerant due to its long taproot. It is often found next to roads.{{Cite web |title=Echinacea pallida (Pale Purple Coneflower) {{!}} North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox |url=https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/echinacea-pallida/ |access-date=2024-12-06 |website=plants.ces.ncsu.edu}}
The state of Tennessee lists E. pallida as endangered,{{cite web|url=https://dataviewers.tdec.tn.gov/dataviewers/f?p=9014:3:118904174220701:::::|title=Rare Species by County|publisher=Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation|access-date=20 September 2023}} and Wisconsin lists the species as threatened,{{cite web|url=https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/EndangeredResources/ETList|title=Wisconsin's Endangered and Threatened Species List|publisher=Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources|access-date=20 September 2023|date=June 2021}} mostly due to habitat loss and over-collection of roots, which are made into herbal medicine. The use of Echinacea as a medicinal plant has not been demonstrated to have any positive health effects.{{cite journal |vauthors=Turner RB, Bauer R, Woelkart K, Hulsey TC, Gangemi JD |title=An evaluation of Echinacea angustifolia in experimental rhinovirus infections |journal=N. Engl. J. Med. |volume=353 |issue=4 |pages=341–8 |date=July 2005 |pmid=16049208 |doi=10.1056/NEJMoa044441 |doi-access=free }}{{cite journal |doi=10.1097/00002371-200209000-00005 |vauthors=Schwarz E, Metzler J, Diedrich JP, Freudenstein J, Bode C, Bode JC |title=Oral administration of freshly expressed juice of Echinacea purpurea herbs fail to stimulate the nonspecific immune response in healthy young men: results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study |journal=J. Immunother. |volume=25 |issue=5 |pages=413–20 |year=2002 |pmid=12218779 |s2cid=23051179 }}{{cite journal |vauthors=Barrett BP, Brown RL, Locken K, Maberry R, Bobula JA, D'Alessio D |title=Treatment of the common cold with unrefined echinacea. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial |journal=Ann. Intern. Med. |volume=137 |issue=12 |pages=939–46 |date=December 2002 |pmid=12484708 |url=http://www.annals.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=12484708 |doi=10.1001/archinte.137.7.939}}{{cite journal |vauthors=Yale SH, Liu K |title=Echinacea purpurea therapy for the treatment of the common cold: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial |journal=Arch. Intern. Med. |volume=164 |issue=11 |pages=1237–41 |date=June 2004 |pmid=15197051 |doi=10.1001/archinte.164.11.1237 |doi-access= }}[http://nccih.nih.gov/health/echinacea/#science Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea, Echinacea angustifolia, Echinacea pallida) [NCCIH Herbs at a Glance]] It is a larval host to the silvery checkerspot.The Xerces Society (2016), Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects, Timber Press. {{isbn|978-1604695984}}{{page number needed|date=September 2023}}
Gallery
Echinacea pallida 003.JPG|Flowerhead
SeedsEchinaceaeapallida.jpg|Fruits
Echinacea.pallida02.jpg|Illustration from Britton and Brown 1913
Echinacea pallida MN 2007.JPG|In cultivation at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum