purple coneflower

noun

: any of a North American genus (Echinacea, especially E. purpurea) of coarse perennial composite herbs with thick rough leaves and long-stalked flower heads having purplish-brown cone-shaped disks and usually pink to purplish rays

Examples of purple coneflower in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Use coneflowers as fillers or thrillers to draw attention to fall planters or pair purple coneflowers with plants with yellow or orange blooms for an enchanting autumn display. —Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 Sep. 2024

Fifty varieties of plants are available for purchase, including four milkweed varieties, several grasses, native purple coneflower, cardinal flower, great blue lobelia, meadow blazing star, New England aster, prairie smoke, wild columbine and wild lupine. —Elaine Rewolinski, Journal Sentinel, 19 Apr. 2024

Behind him, in the center of the circle, Brandon Fountain knelt to look into a cluster of purple coneflowers. —Gregory S. Schneider, Washington Post, 2 Sep. 2023

There’s a great birch, Virginia creeper, purple coneflowers. —Tammy Lagorce, New York Times, 11 Aug. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1848, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

purple coneflower

noun

purple cone·​flow·​er -ˈkōn-ˌflau̇(-ə)r 

: any of three composite herbs (Echinacea purpurea, E. pallida, and E. angustifolia) which have usually reddish purple to pale pink ray flowers and whose various parts (as the dried rhizome, stems, or leaves) are used in the preparation of the dietary supplement echinacea