BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Ratibida columnifera | Upright Prairie Coneflower 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Upright prairie coneflower is a native [21] warm-season [53] perennial
forb [1,27,30,51].  It has one to several stems 12 to 47 inches (0.3-1.2
m) tall [30], often branched in the upper part [24,55].  Leaves are up
to 6 inches (15 cm) long [26] and pinnately divided [21].  Flowerheads
are borne singly [48] at the ends of naked peduncles [1,26].  The floral
disk is columnar, 0.6 to 1.6 inches (1.5-4 cm) long [30], and about 0.4
inches (1 cm) across.  The fruit is a small achene [26]; the pappus is
reduced to one or two prominent awn-teeth [1,30].  Upright prairie
coneflower has a caudex and a stout taproot [26,55] with branch roots
[53].  It is an obligate mycotroph [29].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Hemicryptophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
The most frequent pollinator of upright prairie coneflower in
northeastern Kansas is an andrenid bee (Andrena rudbekii) [28].

Requirements for optimum germination of upright prairie coneflower seeds
vary.

According to research conducted in east-central South Dakota, upright
prairie coneflower seeds have an impermeable membrane which completely
inhibits germination.  Moist-cold stratification produced 11 percent
germination.  If the seed membrane was punctured with a probe,
germination increased to 95-100 percent without stratification.  Filled
seed constituted 47.5 percent of the seed collected [46].

Upright prairie coneflower seeds from southeastern Montana outlier
stands of tallgrass prairie were tested for viability, germination, and
seedling vigor.  Seeds had good germination over a broad range of
temperatures and pretreatments; optimum germination temperatures were 68
to 86 degrees Fahrenheit (20-30 deg C).  At 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20
deg C), 50 percent germination was achieved in 2 days.  Seedling
survival was excellent [18].

Germination rates of upright prairie coneflower seeds from western North
Dakota were tested.  Maximum germination occurred with dry cold storage
(29%, occurring in January) [4].

Upright prairie coneflower can regrow until seasonal maturity if
partially defoliated by mowing or grazing [53].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Upright prairie coneflower grows well on sandy loam, loam, and clayey
loam soils [14].  It can also be found growing on thin, rocky, gravelly
and sandy soils.  It is tolerant of weakly acidic to moderately alkaline
soils and weakly saline soils [53].  Optimum soil depth for upright
prairie coneflower growth is 20 or more inches (51 cm) [14].  It has low
to moderate water requirements [13] and grows in full sun [45].  It is
found on dry plains, prairies [21], hillsides [15], and also roadsides,
railway grades and other "waste places" [51].

A field survey of minimally disturbed native grassland of the Coastal
Sand Plain of south Texas was conducted in May, 1987.  Upright prairie
coneflower occurred in five of ten sites on dune ridges and well-drained
flats, with mean absolute frequency of 14 percent and relative cover of
3 percent.  In swales and on moderately drained flats it occurred on
only one of five sites, with absolute frequency of 5 percent and trace
relative cover [13].

Upright prairie coneflower occurs at the following elevations:

                    Elevation (feet)     Elevation (meters)

        CO            3,500-7,000           1,067-2,134    [27]
        MT            3,200-5,200             975-1,585    [14]
        SD            3,600-5,000           1,097-1,524    [44]
        UT            4,500-8,416           1,372-2,565    [14,55]
        WY            3,700-8,000           1,128-2,434    [14]


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Facultative Seral Species

Upright prairie coneflower is listed as an early seral species in
southeastern Montana [17].  It shows weak shade tolerance and is usually
found on open or exposed sites [53].

After the drought of the 1930's, upright prairie coneflower was
particularly common in mixed-grass prairie of the Great Plains as bare
areas were colonized.  It was one of only five species that showed
marked recovery from the drought by 1943 [12].

Upright prairie coneflower was not present on a range site in
southwestern North Dakota that had been ungrazed for 39 years.  A
similar grazed site had an average of 1.3 upright prairie coneflower
stems per square meter [7].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Upright prairie coneflower resumes growth in spring [53].  In
north-central Texas, it broke dormancy in early March, bloomed in June,
and shed seed in July [16].  In southwestern North Dakota, upright
prairie coneflower resumed growth in late April, bloomed during the
latter part of July, and obtained maximum height by the end of July.
Mature height, averaged over 8 years (1955-1962), was 11.3 inches (28.7
cm) [25].  Upright prairie coneflower bloomed an average of 41 days a
year in central North Dakota [8].

Upright prairie coneflower flowering times are:

                   Begin           Peak             End
                 Flowering       Flowering       Flowering

    CO           June            July            September  [14]
    KS           June            July            September  [28]
    ND           June            July            August     [8]
North TX         June            ----            ----       [16]
South TX         April           ----            ----       [52]
    UT           June            ----            August     [14]
    WY           July            July            September  [14]
Great Plains     June            ----            September  [26]
N. Great Plains  July            ----            September  [51]

Related categories for Species: Ratibida columnifera | Upright Prairie Coneflower