A Note on the Purple Cone Flower, (Brauneria Pur- 

 purea (D. C.) Britton). 



J. Andrew Drushel, 

 Harris Teachers College, St. Louis, Missouri. 



The ptirple cone flower is found from Pennsylvania southward 

 to Georgia and Alabama; westward and southwestward to 

 Michigan, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana. In the 

 region of St. Louis, it usually occurs on limestone slopes, 

 in open oak woods, either as single plants or in small colonies 

 of scattered individuals. The blooming period extends from 

 middle July to early October. See cut for a fine example of 

 a volunteer seedling. 



The writer of this note, in the late autumn of 1910, removed 

 two strong plants of the above species from the woods near Al- 

 lenton, Missouri, with the view of getting a showy perennial 

 ornamental plant which would endure the unfavorable summer 

 conditions usually found in St. Louis. The plants were placed 

 in a rich shaded comer of the college building. After thriving 

 here for several years without producing fertile seed and with 

 only a small increase of new plants from the roots of the parents, 

 they were removed to the southeast comer of the college build- 

 ing, a dry, hot, and sunny spot. In the course of a few years 

 these few plants became a closely crowded olump as shown in 

 the picttire. This clump was one of the show places for the 

 students of the 1916 summer school. 



The first fertile seed was formed in 1917. From this seed 

 many young plants were grown both outdoors under natural 

 conditions, and indoors tinder greenhouse conditions. These 

 seedlings were planted in mass, also as individuals, in exposed 

 sunny spots with highly pleasing results. The writer in the 

 spring of 1920 set two dozen young plants in a comer on the 

 south side of his residence situated on the north side of the street. 

 These plants during the dry hot weather of July and early Aug- 

 gust produced a mass of blossoms, the admiration of the daily 

 passers-by. 



In view of the hardiness of the purple cone flower, its showy 

 blossoms, its long period of blooming, and its relative freedom 

 from enemies, it is suggested that those readers of this note who 



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