COMPOSITAE 



COMPOSITE FAMILY 



TALL CONEFLOWER 



Riidheckia laciniata L, 



Cultivation of this plant dates back at least to 1640 when it 

 was grown in the gardens of Charles I of England. A double 

 form, said to have been found among specimens of the normal 

 form, was introduced to 

 cultivation about 1894. 

 This is the Golden Glow 

 of yards and gardens 

 everywhere, useful as a 

 cut flower but in its 

 natural setting no im- 

 provement upon the wild 

 form. The Tall Cone- 

 flower and Golden Glow 

 alike are subject to at- 

 tack by a red aphis that 

 covers the upper parts of 

 the stems and ruins the 

 appearance of the plants. 



The Tall Coneflower is 

 a branching perennial herb 

 that will grow in almost 

 any soil but is most vigor- 

 ous and tall in moist 

 thickets, often reaching lo 

 feet there. It ranges from 

 Quebec to Manitoba, Idaho and Colorado, south to Florida 

 and Arizona. 



The lower leaves are long petioled and pinnately divided into 

 3-7 parts which are again divided into lobes; the upper are more 

 nearly as shown. x'Xll are rather thin and minutely hairy on the 

 margins of the upper surface. 



The several to many heads are 2>^-4 inches broad and bloom 

 from July to September. The 6-10 drooping ray flowers are 

 yellow and do not fruit. Bracts of the involucre are of unequal 

 lengths. The chaff of the receptacle appears cut off nearly straight 

 at the top and is marked with fine gray hairs. The greenish 

 yellow disk flowers at the base bloom first and the higher ones 

 follow until at length the disk is oblong and at least twice as 

 long as thick. Each disk flower produces a brown 4-sided and 

 i-seeded fruit. The pappus is a short crown. 



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