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Ratibida columnifera

Common name:	Prairie Coneflower	Family:	Compositae
Author:	(Nutt.)Wooton.&Standl.	Botanical references:	43, 200
Synonyms:	Ratibida columnaris (D. Don.), Lepachys columnaris ((Sims.)Torr.&A.Gray.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Western N. America - British Columbia to Montana, Nebraska, Texas, New Mexico and Mexico.
Habitat:	Dry plains, prairies and ravines[43]. Sandy, silty, or rocky open ground in Texas[274].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Lepachys columnifera[B,P] R. columnaris var. pulcherrima[B,P] R. columnifera var. appendiculata[G] Rabitida columnifera[H] Rudbeckia columnaris[B,G,P] Rudbeckia columnifera[B,G,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Mexican Hat [H,S], Red-spike Mexican-hat [B], Upright Prairie Coneflower [P,FEIS], Yellow Mexican Hat [H],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	columnifer = bearing columns; columnifera = bearing columns;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Asterales. Renamed to Asteraceae -- Aster family

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.75m. It is hardy to zone 3. It is in flower in September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Tea.

A pleasant tasting tea is made from the leaves and flower heads[161, 177, 183, 257].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Analgesic; Febrifuge.

The leaves and stems are analgesic[257]. An infusion is used to relieve the pain of headaches and to treat stomach aches and fevers[257]. A decoction is used as a wash to relieve pain and to treat poison ivy rash[257]. The decoction is also used as a wash to draw the poison out of a rattlesnakes bite[257].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Prefers a sunny well-drained border of fairly rich soil[1]. Established plants are extremely drought tolerant[200].
A very ornamental plant[1].
Although perennial, plants are sometimes grown as annuals, they flower in their first year from seed[200].

Propagation

Seed - we have no information for this species but suggest sowing the seed in a cold frame in early spring. Only just cover the seed and put the pot in a sunny position. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in early summer.
Division in spring is possible but very difficult because the plant has a long taproot[200].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Rabitida columnifera (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database

References for Ratibida columnaris (a possible synonym).

[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Ratibida+columnifera
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Ratibida+columnifera

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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.