Echinacea purpurea

Purple Coneflower

the most commonly-cultivated type of echinacea, and the easiest to grow, as the seeds can be planted in the spring without undergoing "stratification" (a.k.a. cold treatment). Does not have a tap root like the other echinacea species, making it easier to harvest (although it is not the most powerful medicinally). Like all echinaceas, this is a striking and very hardy perennial. $1.50/approximately 250 seeds

Echinacea angustifolia

Narrow-leaved Coneflower

medicinally the most potent of the echinaceas, but also the smallest, with short pinkish-purple petals and (surprise) narrow leaves. Various echinacea species were (and are) used by Native Americans to support the immune system, among other uses, and in recent years echinacea has become popular as an alternative medicine, in teas, capsules, etc. (Some people, including my wife and my sister-in-law, however, are allergic to it.) Requires cold treatment to germinate, mimicking the freezes and thaws the seeds experience in nature. (This can be achieved simply by planting the seeds in the fall, to sprout the following spring.) $2.50/approximately 250 seeds

Echinacea paradoxa

Yellow Coneflower

also known as Bush's Coneflower. Unique among echinaceas for its yellow (rather than pink-purple) petals, which make it resemble a Black-Eyed Susan (with droopy petals). Native to the Ozarks. Requires cold treatment. $5.00/approximately 100 seeds

Echinacea pallida

Pale Purple Coneflower

one of the more spectacular echinaceas, with long, narrow purple or pink petals drooping down from a dark center. Requires cold treatment. $2.50/approximately 250 seeds

Echinacea atrorubens

Topeka Coneflower

also known as Reflexed Coneflower and (apparently) Yellowsampson. A rare species native to eastern areas of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. The purple-pink petals curve back so far that some of them may touch the stem (hence "reflexed"). Requires cold treatment. $5.00/approximately 250 seeds

Echinacea tennesseensis

Tennessee Coneflower

only a handful of populations of this endangered flower survive in the wild. (Commercial seed comes from plants in cultivation elsewhere.) Unlike other echinaceas, the petals of this species do not droop but stick out straight around the center of the flower. Rich reddish-purple color. Requires cold treatment. $5.00/approximately 50 seeds

ECHINACEA SAMPLER - Approximately 50 seeds each of the six echinacea species listed here. $10.00