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Plant Profile  
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Common Name: Mexican Hat

Other Names: Prairie Coneflower, Upright Prairie Coneflower

Species Name: Ratibida columnifera

Plant Type: Forb

Family Name: Asteraceae, Sunflower Family

 

 

 

 

Plant Facts  
Origin Native
Duration Perennial
Distribution in the U.S. Great Plains and tallgrass prairie; Montana and North Dakota to Louisiana and New Mexico
Distribution in Oklahoma Across the state; greatest populations in the central half

 

 

ID Characteristics

  • Field Identification Characteristics

    Vegetative

    • Thin, erect branching plant
    • Leaves directly attached to stems; oppositely lobed along midrib

    Floral

    • Flowers yellow with elevated, cylindrical center
    • Flower petals droop below center
  • Leaf and Stem Characteristics
    • Leaf Type: Simple
    • Leaf Arrangement: Alternate
    • Leaf Shape: Lobed (Pinnatifid)
    • Stipules: Absent
  • Floral Characteristics
    • Petal Number:  3-11
    • Flower Color: Yellow to red; sometimes yellow with a red spot at base of petal
    • Flower Timing: June-September
    • Fruit Type: Achene

 

 

Habitat/Ecology  
Soil Type Clay loam, sometimes sandy soils
Habitat Areas with occasional disturbance (mowed margins of rights-of-way)
Successional Stage Early to mid

 

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