A Tennessee Coneflower in full bloom. (All photos by Edward O’Connor.)

Tennessee Coneflower

An Honored Guest in My Garden

I first read about Tennessee Coneflower (Echinacea tennesseensis) in the catalogue I get every year from Salt Spring Seeds on Vancouver Island. The notice described it as a rare and uncommonly attractive wildflower that was thought to be extinct until 1968 when researchers discovered a surviving pocket in a cedar glade in central Tennessee.