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Globular Prairie Cone Flower

Ratibida pinnata

Found in glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone; glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock; oak savannas and openings; prairies and grasslands. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition What its natural habitat tells you

53
Strong

Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 88%

Height
3–5 feet
Spread
1.5–2 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Somewhat dry to moist

Space about 2 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 25 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
July to September

Not yet recorded · Leaves

Recorded in 3 Florida counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 4

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Cedar Glade Number 5, Chickamauga and Chattanooga NMP, Catoosa County
Limestone cedar glade. Shown: Cedar Glade Number 5, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Catoosa County, Georgia, a neighboring state.Cedar Glade Number 5, Chickamauga and Chattanooga NMP, Catoosa County, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Prairies and grasslands

Grand Prairie, Coosa Valley Prairies, Floyd County
Limestone prairie. Shown: Grand Prairie, Coosa Valley Prairies, Floyd County, Georgia, a neighboring state.Grand Prairie, Coosa Valley Prairies, Floyd County, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock

Open, thin-soil openings, outcrops and cliffs on dark, magnesium- or iron-rich rock such as serpentine, diabase or gabbro.

Oak savannas and openings

Open-grown oaks over grass and wildflowers, kept open by fire or thin soil; not the treeless prairies or the Coastal Plain's pine savannas.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

2CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL

Genus host records with ranges including FL · Ratibida

  • Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
  • Epiblema iowana
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
19BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Ratibida

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
11Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Ratibida

  • Andrena rudbeckiae
  • Andrena runcinatae
  • Andrena sitiliae
  • Colletes birkmanni
  • Colletes rufocinctus
  • Diadasia enavata
  • Megachile parallela
  • Melissodes subillatus
  • Melissodes trinodis
  • Melissodes wheeleri
Show all 11
  • Protandrena albitarsis
Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Ratibida

  • Ortalis vetulaPlain Chachalaca
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Asteraceae
Hardiness
Zones 3a–8b
Flower color
Yellow
Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Grey Headed Cone Flower

Conservation status

Florida rankS2
Global rankNot available
FL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source

In your garden

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Growing cautions

For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.

Sources