Echinacea purpurea.commons.wikpedia.org (Accessed 4/2014).

Echinacea purpurea is a perennial 60-180 cm tall from a root crown, stems with few to no branches. 

Leaves alternate, to 15 cm long, 10 cm wide, variable, base abruptly contracted, margin sometimes slightly lobed or toothed. 

Flowers in large heads, rays reddish-purple, showy, 3-8 cm long, disk dark, 1.5-3.5 cm wide, raised, becoming conical, covered by spine-tipped bracts longer than the disk flowers; blooms and fruits June-Oct. 

Fruit dry, 1-seeded, with a short crown. 

Wetland status: UPL. 

Frequency in NYC: Very infrequent. 

Origin: Midwestern USA. 

Habitat: A prairie plant. Escaped from cultivation. 

Notes: Used medicinally but of dubious utility (Hill et al. 2006).