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Smooth Purple Coneflower

Echinacea laevigata

Found in glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone; glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock; forests and woodlands; pine savannas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

47
Good

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

Profile 100%

Height
3–5 feet
Spread
1–1.5 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Somewhat dry to moist

Space about 1 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 100 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

Federally threatened. Excluded from routine garden suggestions. Consult conservation guidance before obtaining or planting this species. Plant caution source

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

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
May to July

Not yet recorded · Leaves

Recorded in 14 Virginia 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 in the Pennyroyal Plain, Simpson County
Limestone cedar glade. Shown: Pennyroyal Plain, Simpson County, Kentucky, a neighboring state.Cedar glade in the Pennyroyal Plain, Simpson County, Mason Brock (Masebrock), undated. Public domain. Source record.

Pine savannas

Sandy Pine Savanna, Rush Featherling subtype
Sandy pine savanna. Shown: Shaken Creek Preserve, Pender and Onslow Counties, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Sandy Pine Savanna, Rush Featherling subtype, Robert Thornhill, undated. CC BY 4.0. 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.

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 109 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

2CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Echinacea

  • Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
  • Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
34BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Echinacea

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
12Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Echinacea

  • Andrena rudbeckiae
  • Megachile inimica
  • Megachile parallela
  • Megachile pugnata
  • Megachile xylocopoides
  • Melissodes coreopsis
  • Melissodes desponsus
  • Melissodes subagilis
  • Melissodes subillatus
  • Melissodes trinodis
Show all 12
  • Paranthidium jugatorium
  • 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
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Asteraceae
Hardiness
Zones 3a–8b
Soil pH
Neutral to alkaline
Flower color
Pink or purple
Growing sources and scope

Conservation status

Virginia rankS2
Global rankG2G3
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusThreatened (US Fish and Wildlife Service)

Conservation source Global rank source Federal status source: US Fish and Wildlife Service

In your garden

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Sources