#ratibida

"They took over the gardenbed and are shading/choking out all the other plants"

"Oh"

And for the crime of botanical hostile takeover, they get expiriated from the garden.

Mexican Hat

Ratibida columnifera

I found this lonely blooming Mexican hat plant gleaming like a beacon light amongst a sea of non-native, invasive teasel growing in a dry, disturbed, almost waste-like land near Interstate 55 in Missouri.

This sombrero-resembling prairie coneflower is native to North America, where its historic native range primarily spanned the Great Plains and surrounding areas to the west, to Missouri on the very eastern edge of its adventive range. However, there are now naturalized populations east of Missouri. It's commonly grown in gardens and can escape from them. This species prefers dry, sunny habitats such as prairies, savannas and some disturbed areas with well-drained, neutral to alkaline soils. Its flowers provide food for an array of insect species, including bees, beetles, moths, wasps, and many more.

June 20th, 2023

Arnold, Jefferson County, Missouri, USA

Olivia R. Myers

Where water sits at a karst exposure and the calcite forms marl concretions on top of the surface in some places at the base, the O horizon meets the C horizon in a symphony, July spectacle of  Eryngium yuccifolium on full display in a place that is both fen and barren. Hints of Ratibida pinnata and  Echinacea purpurea may look like small members but each small member plays a key role in biodiversity, these especially are first chair forbes.