Ratibida columnifera
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Ratibidacolumnifera.jpg
|status = {{TNCStatus}}
|status_system = TNC
|status_ref =
|genus = Ratibida
|species = columnifera
|authority = (Nutt.) Wooton & Standl.
|synonyms = Ratibida columnaris (Pursh) D.Don
Rudbeckia columnaris Pursh
Rudbeckia columnifera Nutt.
|synonyms_ref = {{GRIN | accessdate=2010-06-05}}
}}
Ratibida columnifera, commonly known as upright prairie coneflower,{{PLANTS|id=RACO3|taxon=Ratibida columnifera|accessdate=18 October 2015}} rocketflower,{{cite web |title=Prairie Coneflower (Ratibida columnifera) |url=https://www.gardenstylesanantonio.com/plants/mexican-hat/ |website=www.gardenstylesanantonio.com}} Mexican hat,{{cite web |title=Mexican Hat (Ratibida columnifera) |url=https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/mexican_hat.htm |website=www.illinoiswildflowers.info}} and longhead prairie coneflower,{{cite web |title=Ratibida columnifera page |url=https://www.missouriplants.com/Ratibida_columnifera_page.html |website=www.missouriplants.com}} is a perennial species of flowering plant in the genus Ratibida in the family Asteraceae. It is native to much of North America and inhabits prairies, plains, roadsides, and disturbed areas.
Description
R. columnifera has medium green, hairy stems that branch occasionally, growing to {{convert |1-3|ft|cm|0|order=flip|abbr=on|}} tall. Leaves are also hairy and are deeply pinnate with 5 to 11 lobes. They are alternate and measure up to {{convert |6|in|cm|0|order=flip|abbr=on|}} long and {{convert |2|in|cm|0|order=flip|abbr=on|}} across. The petioles are up to {{convert |2|in|cm|0|order=flip|abbr=on|}} long.{{cite web |title=Mexican Hat (Ratibida columnifera) |url=https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/mexican_hat.htm |website=www.illinoiswildflowers.info}}
The inflorescence at the top of the stem consists of 4 to 12 drooping, sterile ray florets that are yellow, brownish red, or brown with yellow borders, surrounding a central column which is up to {{convert |2|in|cm|0|order=flip|abbr=on|}} long. The column is made up of numerous purplish disk florets, which open in bands starting at the base of the column and moving upwards.{{cite web |title=Know Your Natives – Mexican Hat |url=https://anps.org/2021/08/24/know-your-natives-mexican-hat/ |website=Arkansas Native Plant Society |language=en |date=24 August 2021}} Flowers appear June to September.{{cite web |title=Ratibida columnifera - Plant Finder |url=http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=277224 |website=www.missouribotanicalgarden.org}}
{{gallery|mode=packed
|Mexican Hat Flower.jpg|In bloom
}}
=Similar species=
It is similar to Ratibida tagetes, but the leaves of R. tagetes are closer to the flower, while the leaves of R. columnifera are further below on the stem.{{Cite book |last=Spellenberg |first=Richard |url=https://archive.org/details/nationalaudubons00spel/page/393/ |title=National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers: Western Region |publisher=Knopf |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-375-40233-3 |edition=rev |pages=394 |orig-date=1979}}
Distribution and habitat
R. columnifera is native from southern Canada to northern Mexico.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K_HRW2zk4xYC |title=North American Wildland Plants: A Field Guide |first=James L. |last=Stubbendieck |author2=Stephan L. Hatch |author3=L. M. Landholt |edition=6 |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-8032-9306-9 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |pages=280–281}}{{cite web |title=Ratibida columnifera (Nutt.) Wooton & Standl. {{!}} Plants of the World Online {{!}} Kew Science |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:217868-2 |website=Plants of the World Online |language=en}} In Canada, it is native in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. In the United States, it is native as far as Idaho to the west and north, Texas to the south, and Massachusetts to the east.{{cite web |title=NatureServe Explorer 2.0 |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.132502/Ratibida_columnifera |website=explorer.natureserve.org}} Habitats include sunny sites with well-drained soil, such as upland prairies, pastures, roadsides, and open disturbed areas.
Uses
The Zuni people use an infusion of the whole plant as an emetic.Stevenson, Matilda Coxe 1915 Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians. SI-BAE Annual Report #30 (p. 59)
=Cultivation=
Prairie coneflower is valued by gardeners for xeriscaping and native plant gardens for its color and rich fragrance. Grown in garden settings plants are often biennial, growing the first year and dying after blooming in the second year.{{cite book |last1=Barr |first1=Claude A. |title=Jewels of the plains : wild flowers of the Great Plains grasslands and hills |date=1983 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |location=Minneapolis |isbn=0-8166-1127-0 |page=155}} The prairie coneflower requires dry to medium soil moisture and rarely has serious disease or pest problems. It is hardy in USDA zones 4–9.{{cite web |title=Ratibida columnifera |url=https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=b281 |website=Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder |publisher=Missouri Botanical Garden |access-date=9 June 2023 |ref=MBGPlantFinder}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline|Ratibida columnifera|Ratibida columnifera}}
- {{Wikispecies-inline}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q7295703}}
Category:Plants described in 1915
Category:Flora of Northeastern Mexico
Category:Flora of the United States
Category:Plants used in traditional Native American medicine