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Gray-headed Coneflower
Ratibida pinnata
Alternate Names
Drooping Coneflower
Gray-headed coneflower is a native perennial forb growing up to 4 feet tall on a hairy, slender stem. The leaves are pinnately compound, mostly with five to seven lanceolate segments with harsh and scurty surfaces (Bruggen 1976). The basal leaves are on long stalks, with the blade of the leaf up to 7 inches long. The upper leaves are smaller and often undivided. Flower heads are about 3 inches wide and on long individual stalks. Each head has a bullet-shaped disk, gray at first and then becoming brown with age. The disks less than 1 inch tall and usu-ally taller than wide, surrounded by up to 13 downward-pointing, yellow, petal-like ray flowers. The seed heads are sharply aromatic when crushed
Uses
Gray-headed coneflower can be used for roadside plantings, prairie restora-tion, wildlife cover, landscaping, and plant diversity in prairie communities.
