Pale Purple Coneflower

Echinacea pallida

Found in dry prairies, open dry woodlands, roadsides (introduced eastwards in our area). FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

—

Not native

Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 82%

Height: 2–3 feet
Spread: 1–1.5 feet
Light: Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture: Dry to average

See native alternatives

Echinacea pallida — flower photograph — (c) zancat, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Original photograph

Plant this instead

Your county or city

Choose your county to list local plants first.

Bearded Beggarticks
Bidens aristosa
Sun: Full sun, Partial shade. Soil: Somewhat dry to moist. Flowers: Yellow.
Similar growth form, height, spread
Yellow Wild Indigo
Baptisia tinctoria
Sun: Full sun, Partial shade. Soil: Somewhat dry to moist. Flowers: Cream or yellow.
Similar growth form, height, evergreen or deciduous
Lanceleaf Tickseed
Coreopsis lanceolata
Sun: Full sun, Partial shade. Soil: Somewhat dry to moist. Flowers: Yellow or orange.
Similar growth form, height, spread

Refine these alternatives in the finder

Check a whole list of plants

At a glance

Life cycle: Perennial
Bloom: May to July
Fruiting season: Summer to fall

JFMAMJJASOND

Not yet recorded · Leaves

Recorded in 3 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 3

Barrens grassland after a prescribed fire. Shown: Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, a neighboring state.Barrens native plants returning after prescribed fire, September 2020, NPS Photo / Rick Olson, September 2020. Public domain. Source record.

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

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)

—BeesSoutheastern regional records

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Asteraceae
Hardiness: Zones 3a–10b
Soil pH: Acidic to neutral
Flower color: Pink or purple
Growth rate: Moderate
Growth habit: Single stem
Foliage color: Green
Fruit begins: Summer
Fruit ends: Fall

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Bloom · “May to July” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ) · Carolinas and Georgia
Flower color · “Pink or purple” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Fruit ends · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Growth habit · “Single stem” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Hardiness · “Zones 3a–10b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Height · “2–3 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, USDA PLANTS, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
Soil · “medium to dry” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Spread · “1–1.5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox

Conservation status

Virginia rank	SNA
Global rank	G4
VA status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source