I hate interstate traffic jams, especially the ones that threaten to add an hour and eighteen minutes to a nine hour trip. But, I love the technology like Google maps that predicts such interruptions and reroutes for treks down rural roads in an attempt to save time. Such was the case last June when we were traveling back to Texas from Tennessee.
We ventured off the highway just before the logjam near Arkadelphia, Arkansas when a couple of Echinacea caught my eye. As I’ve written before, the habitat and management of roadside edges help preserve wildflowers and relic plant communities. I saw another large group in front of someone’s house and thought that if I could find a large patch and a wide shoulder, it might make for some good photographs. But, then we rounded the corner, and I gasp. For the next quarter mile, the whole left side of the road was covered with Echinacea pallida, the pale coneflower.
Wowzers. Have you ever seen so many Echinacea pallida?
I’ve become a huge fan of species Echinacea in recent years due to their durability and reliability over the hybrids, and seeing this mass of pale coneflower was further testament for me to how well they grow. Echinacea pallida does well in a range of conditions, which is not surprising considering it is native to a swath that extends from the Gulf of Mexico all the way up to Lake Michigan.
I pulled off onto a logging road just where the patch of Echinacea stopped. I walked up the hillside in shorts braving ticks and chiggers, but it was worth it to see thousands of Echinacea pallida in flower. Growing amongst the coneflowers were other wildflowers like Liatris aspera, Mimosa nuttallii, and Asclepias tuberosa.
I started snapping away with my camera. The densest of the plants was about two telephone poles down, and I felt pulled toward this floral center of gravity. There was little if any diversity in color that I could see, but I did notice differences in the length of the rays. Echinacea pallida can be identified by its dropping ray florets, and it has white pollen instead of the typical yellow color of many other species in the genus.
A close up of a solitary flower on pale coneflower. Note the absence of yellow-colored pollen.
I began to wonder what would cause this Echinacea population to be so large. My guess is a post-seed-set mowing. I noticed in the ground layer there were several juvenile plants sans flowers.
A shot of Echinacea pallida backlit gives a different perspective of the flower with the blackening of the cones.
As I walked back to the car, I mused on how this traffic jam and resulting detour was one of the best ever for botanizing. However, with all the photos I took, I’m not sure if we saved any time taking the backroad or not!
Grace is one word that comes to mind when I see Echinacea pallida. So lovely and elegant.