Index / Search / Ratibida columnifera

§1 Plant — species · Asteraceae

Ratibida columnifera (Nutt.) Wooton & Standl.

vernacular upright prairie coneflower


USDA
RACO3
GBIF
3087173
Rank
species
upright prairie coneflower (Ratibida columnifera)
Platephotograph · Denise Gary source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Habit and range

Growth habit
Forb/herb
Duration
Perennial
Group
Dicot
Family
Asteraceae Bercht. & J. Presl
Genus
Ratibida
§2a

Native status, by region

  • CAN Canada Native
  • L48 Lower 48 States Native

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
Medium
Shade
High
Moisture use
Medium
Fire
High
Salinity
Low
Anaerobic
None
CaCO₃
Low
Hedging
None
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
-43 °F minimum
Frost-free days
90 min.
Precipitation
16–40 in/yr
pH range
5.9–7
Root depth
14 in min.
Fertility need
Medium
Soil texture
coarse, medium, fine
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Single Crown
Growth rate
Moderate
Lifespan
Moderate
Mature height
3.1 ft
Foliage texture
Medium
Foliage colour
Green
Porosity (summer)
Porous
Porosity (winter)
Porous
Flower colour
Yellow
Fruit colour
Brown
Fire resistant
No
N fixation
None
Toxicity
None
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Mid Summer
Seed abundance
Medium
Seed begins
Summer
Seed ends
Fall
Spread rate
Slow
Stratify
No
Seeds / lb
737,104
Propagation
seed, container
§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability
Routinely Available
Nursery stock
Yes
Browse palatability
Medium
Graze palatability
Medium
Palatable, human
No
Protein potential
Medium
Lumber
No
Christmas tree
No

§4Montana distribution

Recorded in 47 of 56 Montana counties.


§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/RACO3 ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/3087173 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T17:47:28Z