COMPOSITAE COMPOSITE FAMILY 
YELLOW CONEFLOWER 
Lepachys pinnata (Vent.) T. & G. 
The Yellow or Gray-headed Coneflower frequents dry open 
places from Ontario and New York to Nebraska, south to Florida, 
Louisiana and Kansas. Often it is with the Purple Coneflower, 
and especially abundant along railroads, 
where it makes a brilliant display from 
June to September. It is a fine orna- 
mental plant for the perennial garden. 
Stems and leaves are rough hairy. 
The stem is 3-5 feet high and simple or 
branched. The alternate leaves are pin- 
nately divided into 3-7 lanceolate, more 
or less toothed or cleft lobes. The lower 
leaves are petioled and sometimes Io 
inches long, whereas the upper are ses- 
sile or nearly so and may be small and 
entire. 
There are only a few, long-peduncled 
heads. The 4-10 long, yellow and droop- 
ing ray flowers do not produce akenes. 
The perfect disk flowers are gray and 
later become brown. The bracts of the 
involucre, few and small, are reflexed 
and arranged in 2 or 3 series. The re- 
ceptacle is oblong and its chaffy bracts, 
somewhat thickened and hairy at the tip, partly envelop the 
akene fruits. These are flattened and rather sharply winged 
or margined, with 1 margin prolonged into a short tooth, repre- 
senting all there is of a pappus. 
The Long-headed Coneflower, Lepachys columnaris (Sims) T. & 
G., is 1-2% feet tall, branching from the base, with terminal heads of 
yellow flowers, or in the variety pulcherrima T. & G., with rays yellow 
and purple-brown at the base. The thick leaves are pinnately divided 
into linear or linear-oblong, toothed or cleft segments. Bracts of the 
involucre are short, linear-lanceolate or awl shaped, and reflexed. 
The broad rays are 4-10, drooping and notched at the end. The disk 
is up to 1 inch long, and covered with perfect flowers and grayish 
hairy-tipped chaff. This species grows on dry prairies northwest of 
the Ohio river to Minnesota and south to Texas and Arizona. The 
blooming period is May to August. 
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